Holding Onto Home
by cameraangles
Summary: Post 5x22. While Bonnie and Damon enlist the help of a familiar face to try and get home, everyone else focuses on fixing Mystic Falls. Emotions are off balance, friendships are tested and witchy hijinks ensue. D/E
1. Chapter 1

As Caroline stormed up to Bonnie's memorial, she began pacing frantically. "I can't take it, Bonnie. I mean it! I don't…I'm not…_argh_!" She paused briefly to yank the ends of her hair in frustration. "None of this is okay! Elena is doing drugs and eating people and God knows what else. Stefan has turned into that weird loner uncle everyone ignores at family reunions. Matt and Jeremy are holed up in Mystic Falls and practically ignoring the rest of us. I don't know what to do! I can't fix this by myself!"

She kicked at the tree trunk. "You should be here! I need help – we all do! We need our best friend back, and God help us – we even need Damon! Where the hell _are_ you guys?"

Caroline sank to her knees and rubbed her forehead. "God, Bonnie," she said in a quieter tone. "I know you're out there somewhere – you have to be. There is no way that you and Damon just ceased to exist. You always know what to do…I just need you to tell me."

She sat in silence a few moments longer before sighing and getting to her feet. As she turned around, she sensed a presence and whirled around, growling in surprise.

"Hey, easy there!"

Caroline relaxed at the sight of Jeremy. "Sorry, Jer. You just caught me off guard."

"Yeah," he said. "So…I didn't mean to, but I heard you talking. You really think Bonnie and Damon are out there somewhere?"

Caroline shrugged helplessly. "When the alternative is that they _aren't_? Hell yes, I do."

Jeremy nodded slowly. "So what can we do about it? If we're saying that they are alive, then we can't just sit back and go on with our lives. At least I can't – not anymore. We have to find them! Or at least…try. Try _something_. Anything."

"Well…" Caroline started hesitantly. "We haven't told anyone else because we really haven't turned up much yet, but…Ric and I have been sorting through Professor Shane's old research since he took over Shane's old office. You know Shane was obsessed with The Other Side? Well, he did some digging into the possibility of other realms too. We keep hoping we'll come across an actual believable lead somewhere in his piles of notes. It's pretty slow going, so…if you want to help, just talk to Ric."

Jeremy nodded enthusiastically. "I can't believe no one else thought to look through all that stuff! It's a great idea!"

"More like the _only_ idea," Caroline said dryly. "And hey – please don't tell Elena, okay? She is not coping well, and the last thing she needs is something else Damon-related to fixate on. She needs to keep-"

Jeremy interrupted. "Yeah, I get it. She's acting a little nuts. I won't say anything until we find something worth talking about."

With a nod, Caroline started toward the path that led to where she'd left her car. "Well, I need to get back to campus. I'll just…leave you to it."

Jeremy smiled, "Thanks, Caroline. I'm glad you were out here."

Caroline smiled to herself as she drove back to Whitmore. Visiting Bonnie's memorial was helping already – one down, four to go. Time to get the family back together.

* * *

As soon as Jeremy got home, he fired up his laptop and opened Skype to chat with Ric. Before he could even get a word out, Ric held up a hand. "Just hold on, Jer. Caroline told me that she talked to you, and I just want to warn you. I can already tell you've got your hopes up, but seriously – all this research is a mess and a lot of it doesn't even make sense. Looking up languages and places and legends mentioned in all this stuff is…well. I'm happy to have the help, just don't expect miracles. Okay?"

Jeremy nodded. "I'm just happy to have anything even remotely concrete to focus on. Can I start tomorrow?"

Ric raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you mean after school."

"Uh huh, right," Jeremy said with a straight face.

Ric sighed and took a long swig of his drink. "I'm not even going to ask. Just come by the office anytime tomorrow afternoon and I'll get you started. I leave everything there so Elena doesn't catch wind of any of it at home."

"Understood. She still at work?"

Ric nodded. "Normally I'd be a little worried by the long hours she puts in shadowing doctors at that clinic, but as things are now? I'm thrilled with every second she spends doing anything other than…you know," he said with a shrug instead of elaborating further.

Jeremy rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "Yeah, I know I should probably talk to her more – but I never know what to say. She doesn't really know what to say to me either. It's just been easier…"

Ric snorted. "Tell me about it – try sharing an apartment with her. Getting me through my first few months as a vampire was a great distraction for awhile, but now I pretty much have to fake having adjustment issues when she needs something to focus on."

Jeremy laughed. "What do you do? Threaten to run out and attack the first person you come across?"

"Hey, whatever works!" Rick said with a half-smile. "Anyway, it's good to see you looking a little more alive than normal – I'm glad Caroline talked to you if it's put you in this great of a mood."

"Well, when I noticed she was there, I felt like I couldn't really interrupt so I was kinda just stuck listening to her and some of the stuff she said? Talking about how everyone is falling apart and how there is no way most of us can accept the thought that they're both just…gone. It hit me that I need to stop sitting around feeling sorry for myself and start figuring out what to do about it."

"Caroline has that effect on people, even when she doesn't mean to." RIc shook his head. "She came in here every afternoon for over a week kicking my ass to get in gear and start helping her sort through all this stuff."

Jeremy shook his head. "I never thought I'd say this, but I really wish Damon was here. He might have been a dick about it, but he was always the one that came up with plans and made decisions."

Ric looked down at his whiskey glass for several moments before looking back up at Jeremy and clearing his throat. "Yeah," he started quietly. "You know, I don't think there is anything I wouldn't do to get him back here." He ran a hand through his hair. "I know everyone misses Bonnie, but Damon? He would hate seeing Elena like this…I'm not sure what it'll take to get her back to normal, but I do know that he'd know exactly what to do."

Jeremy nodded. "Then I guess we'd better figure out where the hell they are."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the follows and feedback so far, I appreciate it! I only have bits and pieces of a plan as to where this is heading - so feel free to let me know if something isn't working for you. Also, sorry on being so vague about Bonnie & Damon's current circumstances, I couldn't come up with a way to actually spell out where they currently are that wasn't awkward this time around, so a better explanation is coming. Promise!**

* * *

As they rounded the corner back toward the parking lot where Tyler left his car, Elena started slowing the pace. "There's your four miles for the day," she said, amused as she noted how worn out Tyler was.

"Damn it, sometimes being human again really sucks!" Tyler panted out as he collapsed on the grass. "Thanks again for doing this. I know I only slow you down. It's just that this is one of the best ways to-"

"I get it, Tyler. Exhaustion beats out uncontrollable rage every day of the week – and it's nice to have a running buddy." She snorted, "Even one as weak and human as you."

Tyler rolled his eyes and laughed. "It's a good thing I'm totally secure enough to hear that from a little girl like you without feeling like a complete wuss."

Elena managed a small smile. "So, how are you really? I know it wasn't easy for you before…controlling your anger."

Tyler sat up with a shrug. "It's a lot easier since I know what's going on this time. I'm better at handling it. Football, running…it all helps." He eyed her consideringly before continuing, "So do the sleeping pills you hooked me up with."

Elena exhaled loudly. "Oh yeah, that's me. Your friendly neighborhood drug dealer."

"Come on, you know it's not like that. It's not like I pop them all the time for fun."

"Yeah yeah, save it for the jury." Elena joked as she stood and extended a hand to help Tyler to his feet. "Looks like your buddies are here," she noted as an SUV pulled in next to Tyler. "Another pickup game?" she asked.

"Yup, hopefully I'll be too tired to even walk to my car by the time we're done!"

Taking a drink from her water bottle, Elena sputtered out a laugh. "Aim high, I guess?"

Grinning at her, Tyler threw an arm around her neck and drew her in to smack a kiss against her forehead. "See you tomorrow, Gilbert."

Ignoring the catcalls from Tyler's obnoxious football buddies, she nodded. "Sounds good. I'm gonna go put in a few more miles, see you later."

As she started back around the trail, Elena listened to Tyler's friends ragging on him.

"Are you sure you're not hitting that, Lockwood?"

"Dude, come on. She is so hot! If you're not into it, I'll be happy to-"

Tyler interrupted them all. "Seriously, lay off. She's family. And definitely off limits to you idiots. She'd eat you for breakfast."

At that, Elena snorted. Tyler totally knew she was listening if he was throwing out lame jokes like that.

"Family? So what, she your sister or something?"

"She might as well be. Now, are we going to play football or not?" Tyler's tone shut down the conversation a lot more successfully than anything else would have.

_Family_, Elena thought to herself. A loaded word if there ever was one. She shook off her maudlin thoughts and tried to clear her mind as she freed herself to run at a faster pace now that Tyler was gone. Having him around to worry about was a great distraction, but once he left? Outrunning her thoughts got a lot harder.

* * *

Several hours – and countless miles – later, Elena lay down in the middle of a lesser traveled side street. She was far enough away from the too-knowing eyes of Whitmore to get away with one of the more clichéd vampire traps.

She knew how worried all her friends were that she fed like this, but they didn't understand. She couldn't help but shiver at the brief warmth that passed through her at the thought of Damon. He'd know. He'd explained once that it was like meditation for vampires – it wasn't just about feeding on whoever pulled over to help. It was about the waiting quiet, almost like a trance. It was one of the only times Elena ever felt peace.

She never killed anyone, and always compelled them to forget when she was done. It could be a lot worse.

* * *

"Damon?"

He looked up from the book he was studying to see Bonnie's concerned gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Did you-" he stopped and gestured helplessly. "Did you do whatever you were hoping to do?"

Bonnie nodded hesitantly.

Damon frowned. "You look a little…I don't know. Something. Are you finally going to tell me what it is you've been doing?"

"Well," Bonnie started slowly. "I didn't want to tell you before I tried it because I honestly didn't think it would work. Then it kinda did and I couldn't believe it and then-"

"Whoa, stop. Try an actual explanation, will you?"

Damon's usual disrespect was enough to snap Bonnie out of her shock. She rolled her eyes before starting over. "I tried to come up with a way to mix my magics – use the spirits and expression, you know? I was hoping I'd find some kind of loophole to allow me access to our present-day Mystic Falls even with the Traveler's spell in place."

That was enough to get Damon to jump to his feet in excitement. "And you did? We can actually make contact?"

Bonnie's shoulders sagged. "No, the spell wasn't that strong."

Damon tried to get a hold on his patience. "So what the hell _can_ you do then?"

"I went there – I think. Kinda. I don't think I was a ghost? Maybe more like a projection or something. I don't know, but I saw Jeremy. He couldn't see me, but I definitely saw him."

Damon ran a hand through his hair. "Was he alone? What else did you see? Where was he?"

Bonnie sat down and tried to slow her still rapid heartbeat. "The only reason I saw him was because he's here – in the Salvatore house, I mean. From the sound of it, I think he must live here."

Damon glowered. "Seriously? Baby Gilbert better not be trashing my house. I swear, he-"

Bonnie cleared her throat loudly. "Anyway – it was like I was just seeing what he was doing at that moment. Not the most useful spell – yet – but it's a start."

Damon nodded. "Yeah, it's a start. Uh…good work."

Bonnie grimaced. "No, don't try to be nice. It freaks me out. Plus, I haven't told you what Jeremy was doing."

Damon snorted. "A teenage guy in the middle of the afternoon? I can guess."

"Gross, no!" Bonnie scowled. "If you don't shut the hell up, I'm not going to tell you about his Skype call with Alaric."

"Ric? You saw him talking to Ric?" Damon demanded.

Bonnie nodded and filled him in on their determination to join in Caroline's quest to find something in Shane's notes.

"And…Elena? Did they say anything about her?" Damon said, barely breathing as he said her name.

Sighing, Bonnie looked down. "It was all a little vague, but…it sounds like something is wrong, Damon. With Elena, I mean. They both mentioned how worried they are about her, and Ric even said something about how much you'd hate seeing her like she is now and that he wishes you were there to help her."

"Damn it!" Damon barked as he kicked over a desk. "What the hell are we supposed to do, stuck here? She needs me! She needs both of us – they all do. Damn it! DAMN IT! I need to get to Elena!"

Letting Damon's explosion go unremarked, Bonnie just nodded. "I think the next step is figuring out some way to get a message to Jeremy. If we give them reason to hope? We can figure out some way to all work together to figure out how to get us home."

"Any clue as to how to do that?" Damon asked.

"Not just yet, why? You got any big ideas?"

Damon sat down beside Bonnie and stayed quiet for a few moments before nodding slowly. "You know what? I just might…"


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure about this? I thought the whole point of laying low at your family's boarding house was to avoid being seen by anyone. Now you want to just knock on Grams' door?"

Damon leaned back in his chair. "We're desperate, Bonnie! We have no idea how to do the spell we need, and no access to any witchy cookbooks to look for one. Besides, we know that woman can keep a secret. All we have to do is convince her to trust us."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh, is that all? What am I supposed to say? 'Hey Grams, it's your granddaughter visiting you from 30 years in the future. Now let me introduce you to Damon, my vampire friend. You don't mind inviting us in, do you?'"

"Well…" Damon started. "You might want to ease into the vampire thing a little slower, but otherwise? Yeah, pretty much."

Still on the fence, Bonnie started to shake her head. "I don't-"

"This is all we've got, Bonnie!" Damon gritted out as he planted a fist onto the table. "What the hell else are we supposed to do? We need help – and we can't trust anyone else! Your Grams is our only shot at talking to someone without disturbing the future. We can't just sit around here doing nothing! Elena needs us!"

"Fine," Bonnie gave in. "But let me talk to her first, okay? Wait until I can convince her that I am who I say I am before trying to get you through the door."

"No problem," Damon said. "I'll wait outside once she lets you in so I can eavesdrop."

Noting Bonnie's glare, Damon shrugged. "Just trying to be honest."

Stalking over to the door, Bonnie grabbed their coats and shoved Damon's in his direction. "Let's just go."

* * *

Alaric tensed at the sound of someone climbing the stairs toward the apartment before recognizing the clomp of Elena's boots. He poured her a drink before collapsing back onto the couch.

Elena dropped down next to him and wordlessly toasted her glass in his direction before slamming it back.

"Rough day?" Ric asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there any other kind?" Elena replied before noticing Ric's concerned gaze. Deciding to elaborate, Elena shrugged. "It's just…all I can do is survive. I've got these rituals – classes, running with Tyler, feeding, texting Jeremy, work – I just focus on making it from one part of my day to the next. If I try to think more than one step into the future, it all just…" she paused, "I just can't."

As Ric poured her another drink, she continued, "I know you guys worry about me, but I just don't know what to do about it. I mean, I'm trying to do the best I can. I haven't killed anyone, I haven't flipped my humanity switch…focusing on avoiding those two things is about all I can manage. Okay?"

Deciding to change the subject and cut her a break, Ric asked, "You talked to Stefan lately?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Has anyone? He's holed up in that place he rented and avoiding all of us. The only thing he's said to me for months is that I need to move on with my life like he's claiming to be doing."

"Yeah, Caroline mentioned earlier that he was dodging her calls." He cleared his throat before continuing, "She also happened to mention that you've been avoiding her too?"

Elena tensed hard enough to shatter the glass she was still holding. She set the pieces down very calmly before turning to meet Ric's eyes. "I just can't stand listening to her, okay? She goes on and on about how we all lost family and how we all need to work together to move on. It's crap! She never liked Damon; she never missed an opportunity to make that crystal clear to me. I won't listen to her try and pretend otherwise now." She got up and began pacing. "Sometimes I seriously think I might go crazy, Ric. Nobody but you – and maybe Stefan – ever understood what kind of person Damon really was. Or could be, at least. Listening to anyone else talk about missing him, even if they mean it, makes me want to kill something. Nobody misses him like I do!"

As her voice got louder, she picked up Ric's empty glass and slammed it against the wall. "No one understands why I can't move on! Why Damon is the one person I can't stand to lose!" She collapsed onto the ground and drove her hands wildly through her hair. "It wasn't supposed to be him, you know? It was never supposed to be _him_. When I'd imagine the future, I thought about Jeremy, Matt and Bonnie and about how they'd eventually grow old and we'd lose them. Fine, that's how things are supposed to be. I actually thought about how we'd keep track of their families over time and check in on them! God, I wish I'd never thought about any of this. Because the one thing that never changed is that Damon was always there with me. He was supposed to be _with me_! The decades, the centuries…however long we had, he-" Elena finally broke down, unable to continue.

Easing down next to her on the floor, Ric put his arm around her. "I know," he said quietly, trying to offer her comfort.

"He was always the one," Elena gestured weakly with one hand, "that made me feel like I'd be able to handle being a vampire. How the hell am I supposed to do any of this without him? Why the hell should I even want to?"

"Not to mention losing my best friend," Elena continued to rant. "Bonnie was always there for all of us, willing to do whatever she could to help. We should have done more to leave her out of it! Then she wouldn't have died or been stuck on The Other Side…she'd be here."

Finally running out of words, Elena just sat with Ric for countless minutes, trying to force her mind back into default survival mode.

Eventually she cleared her throat and looked up. "So, have you dug up anything in your super-secret plan that I'm sick of pretending not to know about to comb through Shane's research?"

"That devious sarcasm right there?" Ric started after he got past his initial shock, "That is Damon's bad influence rearing its ugly head." Snorting, he shook his head. "And no, we haven't found anything yet. But your brother has decided to start helping, and now that you've revealed how bad I suck at being deceitful, you can start pitching in too."

Elena managed a small smile. "Like I'd really go through my days if I thought no one was doing something to try and find them? I'm sick of not being a part of it. I need to find hope from somewhere. Might as well be from the research of Professor Shadypants." She winked as she headed toward her room. "There's a little more Damon-speak for you."

Ric just smiled in return. Looks like letting her get a rant off her chest had helped lighten the load, at least for now.

* * *

Stefan winced at the sound of tires crunching gravel as a car approached the driveway of his cabin. He didn't even need to look out the window to know it was Caroline. She was the only one that ever came out here – and she was one person too many.

With a sigh, he shut his laptop and leaned back on the couch and cracked open a new bottle of beer to wait for her.

When she whirled in, he glared at her. "Not even going to knock now?"

Caroline snorted. "What would be the point? You'd just ignore it and I'd have to just come on in anyway."

Stefan shrugged. "Point to you."

"So…" Caroline started as she looked around, noting the empty beer bottles everywhere. "How's the novel coming?"

"It's fine. Why are you here?"

"Straight to the point? Okay," Caroline nodded. "I just wanted to check on you since you never answer your phone-"

"Nu uh, don't start with that," Stefan interjected. "You didn't come all the way out here for an update on how many squirrels I've been eating. What do you really want?"

"Look, it's just that…things aren't so good at home, okay?" Caroline sat down on the opposite side of the couch. "Nothing is going like it's supposed to, and I can't fix it all on my own!"

Stefan shook his head. "Why should you fix it? Why should anyone? People drift apart, it happens. Maybe we should all just let it go."

Caroline jumped to her feet in frustration. "We didn't just _drift apart_, Stefan! We lost two of our best friends – part of our _family_! Being in denial doesn't make it go away, it just makes you a coward. I am sick of watching you rot out here when we all need you at home!"

Unperturbed by her outburst, Stefan just shrugged. "No you don't. You, Alaric and Elena have each other – and I couldn't go to Mystic Falls to check on Jeremy even if I wanted to. You're all just holding onto the past instead of moving on with your life."

"No one is moving on, Stefan! Jeremy is holed up in your house alone, Tyler has to spend all his time fighting back his crazy werewolf gene rage…Alaric is basically on 24/7 Elena watch while she totally self-destructs. She won't even talk to me anymore. None of us are _okay_!"

"So Elena's feeding on people – it happens. We're vampires. She'll get past it eventually."

"She isn't just feeding on people, Stefan! She tracked down Luke and tortured some kind of crazy witchy drug blend that causes hallucinations. She spends hours at the cemetery every week getting high and waiting for Damon to appear. God, it's so messed up! She doesn't even talk to Jeremy regularly anymore. She needs help, Stefan."

Almost speechless, Stefan's shoulders sagged. "What can I do that no one else can? I sure as hell can't bring my brother back."

"Well," Caroline said with a raised eyebrow. "About that…we've been combing through all Shane's old research that Ric inherited with the teaching position looking for anything about realms beyond The Other Side. It's pretty slow going…we could definitely use some help?"

Stefan rubbed the back of his neck. "Not giving up, huh?"

"We can't," Caroline said simply. "Giving up hope means that we can accept the way things are now. And we _can't_. Not until we actually know what happened to Bonnie and Damon. They would never give up on us."

Stefan grunted. "You never even liked Damon."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that! Elena won't even come anywhere near me because she's convinced that I'm glad he's gone." Caroline shook her head. "Just because I think he's a total ass doesn't mean I don't care about what happens to him. And even with all his many faults, the one thing I know is that family means something to him too – he was always willing to fight for us. You better believe I won't stop fighting for him now. He and Bonnie."

"Look, I can't just drop everything…" Stefan sighed. "Let me think about it, okay?"

"Sure!" Caroline said agreeably. "You have five minutes to think about it before I drag you out of here myself. No more mopey in-denial Stefan laying around out here alone. You're coming with me if I have to hit you with a vervain dart and haul your ass to my car. Got it?"


	4. Flashbacks

**A/N: I skipped ahead time wise with this story - some time has passed since the events of 5x22. This chapter flashes back to right after that all went down. The next chapter picks back up where the previous one left off.**

**So yeah, this chapter acts as kind of a prologue, but the rest of the story all takes place in order!**

* * *

"This is absolutely _not_ happening," Bonnie stuttered out a little crazily as they looked around.

"I have to admit, I'm a little surprised myself," Damon agreed, his voice wavering with shock.

"Are we…is this…did we actually go back in time? Is that really a thing now?"

"Well," Damon replied, "We got witches, werewolves, vampires, hybrids, and crazy centuries old curses. Time travel must have been next on the list of things the universe decided to throw out there to SCREW WITH US." As he spoke, he got progressively louder until he was shouting the last few words.

Ignoring his outburst, Bonnie continued in a panic, "What the hell are we going to do, Damon? Seriously. If we're really in Mystic Falls in 1983 then we absolutely are _screwed_. I mean, are we just going to be stuck here? What happens when people recognize us in the future? I can't even-" she broke off with a panicked wheeze.

"Hey," Damon said soothingly. "Relax, Bonnie. Seriously – we'll figure something out. We always do. We just have to uh…" he trailed off, realizing that he really was at a complete loss.

"Have to _what_?" Bonnie managed to bite out.

"Just give me a minute, will you? I just got done implementing my last save-the-world-crisis plan, and that didn't exactly turn out too well for us, did it?" He leaned against one of the trees they'd taken refuge in once they'd realized where – and when – they were and tried to think.

"Okay," Damon finally said. "First step – shelter. Lucky for us, the Salvatores are more-or-less resigned to the occasional visit from their vampire relatives."

"Seriously? You think we should just go to your house?"

"Sure," Damon shrugged. "I never came through here in the early 80s, and I sure as hell hope Stefan didn't either. Either way, they'll know who I am and that I prefer to be left alone. I'll drop some assurances that I won't kill anyone while I'm here and they'll more or less leave us be."

"What will you tell them about me?"

Damon shrugged. "I don't answer to them. You can just be a friend and we'll try to keep you mostly out of sight. It shouldn't matter too much, Zach is just a kid. I doubt he'll recognize you in 25 years. Even if he does, I doubt he'd bring it up. He was never much of a paranormal fan."

"Plus," Damon realized, "They have vervain. We can jack some and start drinking it."

"Why?" Bonnie asked. "There aren't any vampires around here during this time, are there?"

"No idea, but it's one less thing to worry about just in case. Plus, I need to get used to it so I won't be outed. No matter how many years pass, the town council tends to stay paranoid."

* * *

A few hours later, they found themselves safely ensconced in Damon's room for the night.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Bonnie wondered aloud. "It seems unnatural."

Damon snorted. "Well, if it's any consolation, I'm sure it won't last."

"Still…" Bonnie said, hoping to prompt him to continue.

With a sigh, Damon did. "I've been a little preoccupied with making sure we got here safely without being seen by anyone who shouldn't be seeing us, you know? Of all the crazy messes we've ended up in, this one pretty much blows them out of the water. Plus, it pretty much just blows in general. Flying off the handle before we come up with some kind of plan won't do either of us any favors."

"Ha!" Bonnie laughed involuntarily. "Since when have dire circumstances stopped you from flying off the handle?"

"Touché," Damon replied easily enough. "I guess I just…look, I thought I was dead, you know? And it turned out to be a lot easier to accept than I thought. I mean, I got to see Elena one last time. I got to save my brother. Heading into the light when I know the two of them are safe? Can't ask for much more than that. So now I'm just riding the tail end of the at-peace high I was on, I guess."

"I don't think you did any of this just for Stefan or Elena – I think you did it for all of us," Bonnie argued slowly, starting to realize that there might be more to Damon than she'd realized.

"Don't try to assign me any nobility, Bonnie," Damon warned. "I'm not an honorable guy."

"Maybe not," Bonnie said. "But I think family means something to you. And I think we, whether any of us always like it or not, are a family."

"Perhaps," Damon said. "But looking after a bunch of half-crazy vampires, a sometimes fully crazy witch and a bunch of inept humans isn't exactly a cakewalk. Look where it got me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should start being a little nicer before this fully crazy witch decides to leave your ass here when we figure a way out of this."

Damon just smiled into the darkness. "Goodnight Bonnie."

* * *

"You can't just leave! Where are you going to stay?" Caroline's panicked voice interrupted the blankness Elena had forced her mind into. She heard Stefan's quieter reply about having bought a cabin somewhere in the boonies a few hours away. She almost wanted to laugh – things really were pretty bleak if even Stefan was running for the hills.

"Elena?" her morose thoughts were interrupted by Stefan himself.

"Coming to say goodbye?" she asked somewhat coolly.

"Actually, I want to talk to you about Jeremy," Stefan said. "Since he's the only one that can actually set foot inside the boarding house, I thought we might add his name to the deed?"

Elena sat up in surprise. "Really?"

Stefan shrugged. "I can't live there. I can't even stop by to keep an eye on it. I just…" he stopped and rubbed his face tiredly. "It meant a lot to - to my family. I want someone around to take care of it."

Knowing that he was really referring to Damon, Elena swallowed hard and managed a nod. "Fine. That's fine with me. You'll talk to Jeremy?"

Stefan nodded and left without another word. Elena collapsed back onto the bed so she could return to her half-conscious stupor.

* * *

Caroline listened briefly at the door before tightening her shoulders and knocking.

"Yeah?" she heard Elena's hesitant reply.

"It's me," Caroline said as she opened the door and walked in. "I just wanted to tell you…well, to ask…I'm heading to campus today to arrange for a dorm. I'm assuming just keeping the same room we had last year is okay with you?"

"No!" Elena said vehemently. "I can't..." she trailed off and cleared her throat before continuing. "I was thinking I'd stay off campus this year."

"What?" Caroline blurted in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me? You shouldn't live alone, Elena. I can-"

"I won't be alone," Elena interrupted. "I talked to Alaric yesterday, we're going to get a place. He needs somebody to help him with the whole newbie vampire thing and we're already used to living together, so…" she trailed off. "It's just better this way."

* * *

"You sure about this?" Matt asked as he opened a beer and plopped down on the couch across from Jeremy. "You know you can always keep living at the Lockwood's with me."

"No," Jeremy shook his head. "Stefan asked me to take care of this place, so that's what I'm going to do."

"Well," Matt said, "You _can_ look after it without actually living in it, you know."

"I want to. I mean, look…Damon was a dick. His bad mood default setting was pretty much set on trying to kill me. But he was still…" Jeremy stopped, unable to find the words to explain.

"Yeah, I get it man. No matter how much crap he put us through when he was pissed about something, he was still one of us."

"Yeah," Jeremy agreed. "And he was a huge pain in the ass about taking care of this house. Doing it for him now just seems like…something to do. Pretty much the only thing I can do about any of it, I guess."

Deciding to change the subject, Matt asked, "Have you heard from Bonnie's mom yet?"

Jeremy shook his head. "No, she hasn't returned any of my calls. I'm not sure if it's because she already found out somehow or what, but I finally just left a voicemail telling her what happened."

Matt winced.

"I know it sucks," Jeremy agreed. "But I didn't know what else to do. At least now, if she returns my calls, I can ask her if she's ever heard anything about other realms for supernatural creatures."

"Yeah, Bonnie was the one that did all that kind of research," Matt said. "Not sure who else there even is to ask about any of this."

"Yeah," Jeremy said. "But there _has_ to be a way to get Bonnie and Damon back. I mean, Stefan took off, we're both living in houses that are only empty because most of the people that lived in them are dead, and my sister is basically in a coma, so someone sure as hell needs to do _something_."

Matt nodded. "Everybody will pull it together eventually. If they're out there somewhere, we'll find a way to fix all this."

* * *

The first morning, Damon woke up to the sound of Bonnie crying. He didn't blame her. He winced as he tried to figure out what to say. Other than Elena, he'd ever been the best at comforting people. Mostly because he hardly ever cared enough to try.

"Thinking about home?" he asked.

"Can you imagine how Elena must be feeling? I mean, Jeremy, Stefan and the others too – but Elena…"

"Yeah," Damon said softly. "Nobody does grief like our girl."

"I mean, this totally sucks for us – being stuck here with no clue how to get back. But they think we're _dead_, Damon."

"Well, on the bright side, as many times as you and Jeremy have died? Surely at least one of them will decide you haven't used up all nine of your lives."

Sniffling, Bonnie managed a small laugh. "Someone? Yeah right – it will definitely be Caroline."

"She does tend toward the annoyingly optimistic. I've always wondered how Elena put up with being friends with her for so long."

"That's because she doesn't like you – you don't really know her. It's always been the three of us – all our lives. The concept of a lifelong best friend is probably just foreign to you."

Damon stayed silent for a few minutes before replying. "Stefan," he said simply. "My brother has always been my best friend…mostly because for a long time he was my _only_ friend, but still."

"Hey," Bonnie said carefully. "I know fighting with you isn't going to accomplish anything, I didn't mean to-"

"God, stop apologizing. It's unnatural…you're freaking me out."

When Bonnie didn't say anything, Damon decided to keep talking. "I know it doesn't always seem like it – but Stefan is…well, did Elena ever tell you any of the stuff Stefan told her about us before we turned?"

"No, not really. Just enough to give me the gist about Katherine."

"Well, before that bitch came into the picture, we were pretty inseparable. Our dad was a dick – more to me than Stefan, but still. It was always us against everyone else." Damon laughed a little. "We hardly ever argued – never went through any of that brother competition crap. Well, not until Katherine, anyway." Damon stretched his arms. "Then, after we turned, nothing was ever that simple again. But I still knew that if I _really_ needed him, he'd always come."

Bonnie hummed in agreement. "I'm sure he's always known that it goes both ways, Damon."

"Well, maybe he did before," Damon shook his head. "But if he thinks I'm really dead, he doesn't anymore. Losing the one tether to life you've held onto for over a century and a half? I think I'm actually more worried about him than Elena. She'll hold onto her humanity for Jeremy. What does Stefan have to keep him from going off the rails?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just a reminder - since the last chapter was made up of flashbacks, this chapter picks up where Chapter 3 ended. As always, thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

When Caroline unlocked the door to her dorm, she looked back at Stefan. "Guess it turned out to be a good thing that Elena bailed on being my roommate – there is an empty bed for you to crash on until we figure something else out."

"Great," Stefan said in the same monotone voice he'd been using ever since she'd dragged him out of his cabin.

"God, you have got to snap out of it!" Caroline finally boiled over. "This is insane – and it isn't you! You are so far in denial – you need to get over it _right now_ and start helping me!"

"I don't know why you keep insisting that you need help. For what? I can't bring Damon back for Elena or Bonnie back for all the rest of you. There is nothing anyone can do except move the hell on from the last three years. We'd all be better off if you could just start pretending like they never happened."

"Is that what you've been doing?" Caroline snapped. "Pretending like you didn't bring us all together and turn us into a family so we'd have something to fight for? You started all this when you moved back to Mystic Falls. You need to crawl out of your stupid denial hole and start-"

Stefan's façade finally cracked. "Of course I'm in denial, Caroline! I fight with everything I've got every single moment of the day to stay behind the huge wall of denial I've built for myself. Do you have any idea what will happen to me if I let in any other emotions? You might as well send an engraved invitation for the Ripper to dine on everybody within 100 miles!" He took a deep breath and spoke more deliberately. "My brother, largely because he wanted to make sure I came back, is gone. Do you realize that, before this happened, I had never spent a single day on this without knowing that he was alive somewhere too? For over a century and a half, I had a brother. We argued, fought, tried to hate each other…but he was always _there_, Caroline. If you try to make me accept that he's…gone," Stefan's voice cracked on the word, "there will be no coming back for me. Ever."

"I don't want you to accept that he's gone, dumbass! I don't even accept that he's gone! He and Bonnie _are_ out there somewhere, and the longer we all stay in denial about what happened, the longer it will be before we can get them back." Caroline took his hands. "Seriously, Stefan. The sooner we all agree to put everything we have toward finding them, the sooner we'll have them back."

"Finding a witch and a vampire that will probably kill each other if they weren't zapped into oblivion with the rest of The Other Side. Is that all?" Stefan asked dryly.

"No, actually," Caroline said. "It's not. Once we have Bonnie and Damon back, we can start figuring out how the hell to fix Mystic Falls so that we can all go home."

Stefan couldn't quite contain a short burst of laughter. "Sounds easy enough."

* * *

Elena was running late the next day and texted Tyler to see if he could meet her at the clinic when she got off work – it was an easy distance from one of their regular routes, so they wouldn't lose any time.

When she got his _no problem_ text in reply, she didn't give it another thought and dove straight back into shadowing the clinic doctors for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

When Tyler got to the clinic, he found Elena's car in the parking lot and leaned against it to wait. Tuning out his surroundings, he started flipping through Twitter on his phone to kill time.

"Excuse me, do you need help with something?"

The rude voice pulled him back into the real world. A little baffled, he replied, "No dude, I'm good."

"Well, that isn't your car. Do I need to call security?"

Tyler raised his eyebrows. What the hell was this guy's problem? "Security, really?" he snorted. "I'm just waiting on a friend, I'm sure she'll be out any minute."

The boy scoffed. "_You_ know Elena Gilbert?"

_Oh_, Tyler thought. So that's how it is. Dude has the hots for her. Boy was he in for the longest case of blue balls ever if he kept this up. Trying not to laugh at the guy, he just nodded in reply. He must not have completely hid his amusement, because the other guy sneered.

"I think I'll wait and see if she's okay with you being here before I leave."

Tyler couldn't contain another snort. Did he look that rough in his workout gear? This guy must be pretty desperate if he really thought trying to protect Elena from him was going to win any points. "Seriously man, you don't even know…" Tyler shook his head. "Elena can take care of herself. I'm pretty sure she could beat us both down if she wanted to." _She could also push this car one-handed around the parking lot, you moron_, Tyler continued in his head.

"She doesn't have a lot of family, you know," the guy said pompously. "I just think someone needs to be looking out for her. Right now, that somebody is me."

Tyler's mood started switching from amused to pissed. "You need to back off, man. Believe me – Elena has plenty of family looking out for her. Including me. You, however, are seriously overstepping."

The guy stepped up into Tyler's face. "I've been working on her for months, you muscled-up punk. No way you get to come in here and take over."

Tyler growled in his throat. "You better back the hell up, douchebag. You have _no idea_ what you're messing with."

"Tyler? You okay?" Elena's concerned voice penetrated the rage building in his mind.

He rolled his shoulders. "Fine," he said shortly.

"Elena, has this thug been bothering you?" Captain Annoying butted in. "He insists that he knows you, but I didn't believe him for a second."

Elena raised an eyebrow in reply. "What the hell does it matter to you?" She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, effectively shutting him out of the conversation. Smiling slightly at Tyler, she asked, "Ready?"

Giving the stranger one last warning look, Tyler nodded. "Let's do this!" he said.

Elena elbowed him. "Uh huh, let's see how long that enthusiasm holds before I have you panting like a dog."

Tyler laughed and took off after her, heading for the trail. Taking a quick look back, he was surprised to see the look of rage on the stranger's face.

* * *

"So, who was that guy?" Once they'd finished running and Tyler had gotten past the collapsing-in-exhaustion stage, he was quick to jump back to his parking lot encounter.

"Hmm? Who?" Elena asked as she stayed stretched on the ground staring into the sky.

"That asshole in the parking lot, there was something seriously off about him."

"Oh," Elena said. "That's Kade…another one of the students shadowing doctors at the clinic. He has been a little annoying lately." She shrugged.

Tyler sat up in shock. "Annoying? Elena! That dude is totally obsessed with you. He was getting in my face accusing me of horning in on his territory!"

"What the hell?" Elena asked, sounding totally confused. "I usually just tune him out when he tries to talk to me. I don't think I've ever had an actual conversation with the guy not about work!"

"Well…" Tyler scratched his head uncomfortably. "You're probably just so far away from a place of caring whether or not somebody has a thing for you that you didn't notice him. But seriously," Tyler shook his head. "The dude is off-balance. Maybe you should compel him to…not like you?"

"I guess if he starts bothering me I could," Elena said somewhat dismissively. "I've been putting vervain in the water coolers, so it'd take a few days before he's clean."

"Seriously, Elena. There is something messed up about that guy. I know you can take care of yourself – but keep an eye out, will you?" Tyler had a really bad feeling about how far that guy might try to take his weird obsession.

* * *

"This is, by far, the most insane thing we've ever had to do," Bonnie said as they neared Grams' house. "And that is saying a whole hell of a lot. Are you still sure this is a good idea?"

"I am absolutely not sure at all, Bonnie," Damon said sardonically. "But as we've established, it does happen to be our _only_ idea. Besides, maybe you can conjure up some kind of forgetting spell or something before we go back? We'll figure it out," he waved his hand in dismissal. "First things first, let's just see if you can convince her that we are who we say we are."

"Well, witches can sense each other – and once I started using my powers, I always got this vibe when I was around Grams. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like a feeling that she was family?" Bonnie shrugged. "We'll see how well it holds up after angry spirits, death and time travel."

"Plus," Damon started, wincing slightly, "She possibly knows of me already? I'm not positive, but I think she met my brother in the 50s. So when you tell her about me? Maybe ease into the whole Salvatore brother part."

"You couldn't tell me this before we got here?" Bonnie squeaked out in panic as they reached the driveway.

"Didn't want you to have too much time to freak out!" Damon said brightly as he pushed her toward the porch. "Off you go, then! I'll wait out here until I'm fairly confident she won't try to kill me on sight."

Bonnie threw a glare back at him as she stepped up to the door. Blowing out a breath, she knocked.

The door opened. "Can I help you?"

No matter how much she'd tried to prepare for the sight of a 30 year old Grams, she was almost knocked off her feet. "Gra…uh, hi!" She cleared her throat. "Sheila Bennett?"

Grams raised an eyebrow. "That all depends on who you are, Miss…?"

"I…well," Bonnie shrugged and held out her hand.

Both eyebrows now raised, Grams reached for her hand. "Oh!" she said in a dazed voice, "Well. I guess you'd better come in."

Taking a quick look over her shoulder to make sure Damon was out of sight, she stepped into the house.

As Sheila looked her over, Bonnie could tell she was perplexed. "So, who are your parents, honey? I can tell that you're a Bennett witch, but I'm afraid I can't quite place you. I don't understand, I thought I knew our entire family."

Bonnie gestured toward the couch and said, "I think we'd better sit. It's all a pretty long story." As she sat and crossed her legs, she laughed a little. "I'm actually not sure where to start. Seeing you has got me a little off balance."

"Maybe start at the beginning? You'll find your way to what you need to say."

"Well," Bonnie gulped. "My name is Bonnie…Bennett," she spoke her last name with a small smile. Groping for what to say next, she decided to just dive in. "My mother is Abby, your daughter." Before Sheila could react, Bonnie rushed to continue. "I know I sound absolutely crazy – I don't expect you to believe me yet, but-"

Sheila held up a hand and Bonnie quieted instantly. "You want me to believe that you are somehow my granddaughter?" Sheila shook her head. "Child, I believe in a lot of things, but time travel is not one of them. If you need some kind of help, you don't have to try and deceive me. I'll be happy to-"

Bonnie cut in. "I didn't know I was a witch until I was 16 and started being able to sense things and light candles with my mind. I completely freaked out," she smiled a little, "and went straight to you for help. You started teaching me about our heritage and the importance of who I am and what I can do."

Seeing Sheila shaking her head again, Bonnie reached out and squeezed her hand briefly. "Just let me finish the story, okay? I think it'll help you understand."

"The first thing you taught me to do with my magic was float feathers in the air. God," Bonnie laughed again. "That seems like so long ago. Being excited about something as simple as that?" She shook her head. "Anyway, then things got complicated. I got mixed up with vampires and doppelgangers and was in so far over my head. Actually, I guess I've been in over my head since the beginning. But you always helped me any way you could. You even helped me open the tomb under the old church? Where the vampires from the 1860s are trapped?"

Sheila jumped to her feet. "How do you know about that, child?"

Bonnie shrugged. "How do I know about any of this? Some you taught me, the rest I figure out as I go."

Starting to feel a little less certain that she'd be able to convince her Grams that she was telling the truth, Bonnie looked around hoping to find inspiration. Seeing the grimoires on one of the bookshelves gave her an idea. "Actually, maybe I don't have to convince you to believe me. Maybe I can show you!" Bonnie sat forward on the couch. "Let's do a memory sharing spell! Let me give you a memory of the two of us together."

"I…well," Sheila shrugged. "It certainly can't hurt for you to share a memory with me. Do you know the spell?"

Bonnie smiled and grabbed Sheila's hands. As they began chanting, Bonnie focused on the memory she wanted to share. The afternoon she'd been panicked when her powers were blocked when Grams had encouraged her to try and face her fears.

"Good lord!" Sheila cried after seeing the memory. "I can't believe it!" She reached out and cupped Bonnie's face in her hands. "Child, I'd never have trusted a word you said without seeing that. This is unbelievable!"

Sinking back into her chair, she got down to business. "So what on Earth are you doing here? Are you here on purpose? How did you even…" she cut herself off. "I think you'd better tell me everything."

"Well, I told you that I got involved with vampires?"

Sheila winced and nodded in reply. "That was your first mistake, honey. Nothing good ever comes with mixing with those creatures."

Bonnie shrugged. "Well, things are different in 30 years. A _lot_ different," she stressed. "The circumstances that started it all – with the tomb, I mean - were part chance, part accident and part…just plain bad luck," she finished with a shrug and an ironic laugh. "But then everything changed again. People I cared about were involved and it started falling on me to protect them. Before I knew it, we were all pretty much a family. Vampires included."

Sheila raised her eyebrows again. "You mean to say you're still involved with vampires? That you _trust_ them?"

"Not as a general rule," Bonnie said dryly. "But a few of them? Yes. My friends and I have all been through a lot together. You can't even imagine," Bonnie said firmly. "We disagree and we fight, but when it comes down to it, we protect our own. I mean that, Grams – er, Sheila. I know you don't like vampires, but I came here to ask you for help, and part of helping me will mean accepting that they're in my life."

"How am I going to be able to help you? You haven't told me yet how you came to be here."

Bonnie nodded. "I'll get there…but not just yet. We still have to talk vampires. Have you…do you know of any vampires? Have you ever met any, I mean?"

"And if I have?" Sheila asked.

"Well, it's just…I'm pretty sure you met Stefan Salvatore back in the 50s?"

Surprised, Sheila nodded slowly. "I did. Are you saying he's one of the people you come to know in the future?"

Bonnie nodded. "Stefan and his brother. Damon?"

Sheila hissed. "I've heard horrible things about him, Bonnie. Witch spirits talk. I wouldn't trust him for a second!"

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh, hoping now that Damon really was listening. "Yeah, I've seen the witch spirits when it comes to him. To say they don't like him would be an understatement." Still amused, she met Sheila's eyes. "But like it or not, he's a part of my life. And, against my better judgment sometimes, I do trust him." Her tone turned apologetic as she continued, "And I'm going to need you to do the same. At least to some degree."

"Why should I trust a vampire I've never met?" Sheila asked sharply. "What does this have to do with you being here now?"

Bonnie winced. "About that-" she was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I didn't say I was here alone."

"Are you saying that Damon Salvatore is standing on my front porch right now?" Sheila asked in shock. "Helping you is one thing, Bonnie. The Bennetts always take care of their own. But my loyalty does not extend to helping vampires!"

"Just give him a chance, Grams. Let him in and listen to our story before you decide what to do. If you still feel the same later, I'll help you respell the house to cancel out his invitation inside. Okay?"

Giving Bonnie a brief glare, Sheila took slow, deliberate steps to the front door before throwing it open.

"Miss Sheila," Damon said with a barely discernible bow. Being respectful was not something he excelled at, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She was obviously having none of it anyway. "I'll drop you at the first sign that you mean me any harm. Understood?"

Damon nodded, clamping his mouth shut against all the smartass things he wanted to say in reply. Seeing Bonnie glaring warningly at him over Sheila's shoulder, he shot her a brief wink.

"Then I suppose you can come in."

"Thank you," Damon said before heading over to sit next to Bonnie on the couch.

"Now that you've got your vampire in here, do you think it's finally time to tell me what on Earth is going on?"

Bonnie met Damon's eyes quickly before looking back at Sheila with a nod.

"Like I said, you can't even imagine how things are for us in the future. We've had to deal with so much – I pretty much wake up every day half convinced I'll die before it's over."

At that, Damon snorted. Bonnie elbowed him before continuing. "Actually, one of the first steps that led me – us – here is the fact that I died last year. Damon," Bonnie said with a nod in his direction, "came up with a plan to bring me back from the Other Side." Pausing, Bonnie looked at Sheila. "Do you know about the Other Side?"

Sheila nodded. "Purgatory for the supernatural."

Bonnie nodded with a smile. "Right. So anyway, Damon's plan got…complicated."

"_Really_ complicated," Damon interjected.

Ignoring him, Bonnie went on, "I ended up not being able to come back exactly how we'd planned. I was forced into position as the anchor between the two worlds. Anytime a supernatural creature here died, they had to literally pass through me to get to the Other Side." Bonnie shivered. "It was awful. But it was also the only way to get back to this world at all. So I did it."

"So you existed in both realms?" Sheila asked wonderingly.

"Uh huh," Bonnie nodded. "The only problem was that there ended up being a lot of people that basically wanted to end the Other Side. Make it completely disappear. We were all trying to stop those people. It didn't exactly go well," Bonnie winced. "Lots of our friends died, and Damon came up with another plan to try and get everybody back."

Sheila raised an eyebrow and asked a little mockingly, "If his plans always go wrong, why do you keep listening to him?"

"Hey!" Damon said. "Somebody has to take charge and try to save all the idiots we're surrounded by. Besides, my last plan worked, more-or-less."

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, all our friends did get back. Damon and I were the last ones on the Other Side when the spell transporting everyone out stopped working. That's how we ended up here – we figured we'd just stop existing when the Other Side did. We were both watching everything fall apart…then there was a bright white light and we woke up here."

Damon grunted. "Everyone we know most likely assumes that we're dead."

"That is quite the story," Sheila said, at a loss as to what else she should say. "Exactly what year did you come from?"

"Oh, sorry! I should have said before." Bonnie said. "2012."

"I have never even heard of the possibility of time travel being possible – and even if I had, the power any kind of spell would take…" Sheila shook her head. "What is it you're hoping I can do for you?"

"Well, power isn't the problem," Bonnie started.

Damon hummed in agreement. "That's pretty much the only thing we feel pretty confident about. Whatever spell we figure out to be necessary, Bonnie will be able to do."

Looking Damon over, Sheila asked "And how exactly did you come to have so much faith in my granddaughter?"

Damon shrugged and simply said, "Experience."

Bonnie smiled a little. "I told you, Grams. Things change. I wouldn't have chosen Damon to be a part of my life-"

"Nor would I have chosen her!" Damon interrupted.

Bonnie rolled her eyes before continuing, "but we've spent years fighting together. Damon is part of my family now. We're in this together – I meant it when I said you'd have to accept helping both of us."

"But _why_?" Sheila asked a little desperately. "What made you decide you could trust him? Help me understand you."

"I already told you that I ended up staying involved in all this because people I cared about were wrapped up in it too," Bonnie started. "One of those people was my best friend, Elena. We've been close our entire lives."

Damon took up the explanation. "And I love Elena. In the beginning, I trusted Bonnie because I knew she wanted to keep Elena safe."

"And I knew that I could trust Damon to do the same," Bonnie agreed. "All of our friends pretty much came together initially because of Elena, then we fought together for so long that we eventually just became a unit." Bonnie shrugged, unsure what else to say.

Damon nodded. "It might not seem right to you – a descendant of yours living closely with supernatural creatures. But…" he met Sheila's eyes determinedly. "I take care of my own. Bonnie and I are going to find a way back. All we're asking is that you do what you can to help us."


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay," Damon started as he laced his fingers behind his head and made himself comfortable on the couch. "Now that Grams here is on board, I think the first thing we need to worry about is figuring out how to get word to the present that we weren't sucked into oblivion."

"Okay…" Bonnie said slowly. "I suppose you have some ideas about that?"

Grams stayed silent, watching their interaction with interest. She'd be judging for herself whether or not to trust this vampire.

"Well," Damon said. "What's the one thing the present and uh…_this_ present have in common?"

Frowning, Bonnie shook her head. "The fact that we're still in Mystic Falls?" she guessed.

"Yes!" Damon said. "Exactly! More specifically, we're still at the boarding house itself. There are plenty of places we could hide a letter to keep it safe. I'm thinking somewhere in one of the cellars. Either way, the trick will be getting Jeremy to find it."

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah, that's sure some trick alright."

"Isn't there some way to…I don't know. Implant a thought in his mind? Give him the strong urge to look in a specific place? It's Little Gilbert we're talking about here, it's not like his mind is exactly a steel trap."

"Sure there's a spell!" Bonnie said brightly before continuing in a darker tone, "if his current location wasn't currently decades away from us!"

"Now wait a minute, Bonnie," Grams finally interjected. "He might be onto something. You said you can project yourself there?"

"Not in any concrete sense – just enough to be able to see what's going on. I don't have much control over it."

"Well, all you need is a short burst of concentrated energy." Grams waved a hand. "Getting there should be the hardest part, and you already figured that out. Pushing a thought into his head won't take very long, so you won't have to concentrate on trying to stay in place." She looked toward the bookshelves. "There's a spell somewhere specifically geared towards urging someone to do something when you aren't in the same location. It may take me awhile to find it, but-"

"Bonnie, do that thing!" Damon said. When she looked at him questioningly, he rolled his eyes. "Remember? That time you hocus pocused the bookshelf into dropping a specific spell on your lap?"

"Right," Bonnie said with a short laugh. "It's been so long since I've done the simple stuff. I keep forgetting about it."

Damon shot her a smile. "Save the world so many times that you've forgotten your roots?"

Noticing Grams taking in their banter with the hint of a frown, Bonnie cleared her throat and stood up. Smiling at Grams as she walked past her, she stood in front of the bookshelf and held out her hands. Moments later, one of the books tumbled to the floor, opened. "Ah ha!" Bonnie said with satisfaction as she picked up the book and began reading. "This what you were talking about?" she gestured to Grams.

"I'm impressed," Grams said. "You call that simple magic?"

Damon snorted. "You should get her to spill about all the times she's brought people back from the dead."

"Ooookay!" Bonnie said loudly to cut off that particular subject. "So, if I'm going to try this, we'd better get that letter written." She coughed a little. "I'm sure we'll end up having to do this more than once, so you can write this one. Okay?"

Damon looked at her in surprise before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I…thanks, Bonnie. Really."

She rolled her eyes at him. "If I'm not allowed to apologize to you, then you aren't allowed to thank me. Deal?"

"Thank God! All this emotional stuff…" he winced and pretended to shiver before looking at Grams with a smile. "May I please borrow paper and a pen?"

* * *

When Jeremy got home from school, he sat on the couch and flipped through the messages on his phone. He had been slacking off on his homework lately because of all the trips to Alaric's office, so he was taking the afternoon off the research hunt to catch up. He made Caroline promise to keep him informed of what they were looking through. They had yet to make a single iota of progress, but you never knew.

Feeling a weird chill, he rubbed absently at one of his arms and got up to head to the kitchen. Matt had left part of a six pack in the fridge the last time he was there. Without even realizing it at first, he veered off for the entrance to the staircase that led to the cellars. Stopping at the door, he frowned. "What am I doing?" he muttered to himself in confusion. Shrugging, he opened the door. He had the weirdest feeling that he was forgetting something down there.

Opening the door to the cell, he headed straight for the rocks that took up almost half of the space. Feeling around for a crevice in the back, his hand caught on something. Pulling it out, he shook the dust off an old zippered pouch.

Suddenly snapping out of his trance-like state, he staggered back. "What the hell?" he shouted as he stared at the package in his hands. "How did I…?" He ripped it open and stared at the envelope in shock for several moments, unable to move.

Finally, his legs stopped working and he sank to the ground, still staring at the sealed envelope and the writing on the outside. _Hey Jeremy, Surprise! We're not dead! Explanation inside. –Damon & Bonnie_

He recognized the weird old script writing Damon and Stefan always used and goggled at the message. Was this for real? He carefully opened the envelope, unfolded the paper inside and began to read.

* * *

"Gang's all here!" Caroline said as Elena and Tyler opened the door to Alaric's office. She, Alaric, Stefan and Matt had all been there for hours working.

"Yeah, so…does anyone know why my brother insisted we all meet here?" Elena asked a little worriedly. It'd been awhile since she'd checked in with him.

"Well," Alaric said. "He was pretty manic, but his exact words were 'ohmygodohmygodohmygod, I have to talk to you guys. All of you. Seriously, get everybody there _now_. I'm on my way.'" He shrugged. "He hung up before I could even get a word out."

"It better be really good," Tyler grumbled as he plopped down on the floor next to Matt. "I'm going to get my balls roasted for missing football practice."

"I'm sure we're all duly concerned about the future state of your balls, Tyler," Caroline said derisively. "But he wouldn't have summoned us all here if it wasn't important. He knows we haven't all been together since…" she trailed off with a quick glance at Elena. "Well, it's been awhile."

Before things could get more uncomfortable, Jeremy crashed into the room, slamming the door open so hard that it smashed into the wall. "You guys won't believe this!" he said shakily, waving an envelope in the air. "I got…we all got…it's just that…" he fell hard onto the couch, still not in full control of himself.

"Jeremy?" Elena said in concern as she slowly rose to her feet. "What-?"

Wordlessly, he held out the envelope. Alaric, the closest, grabbed it from him. Everyone watched as his face froze into the oddest expression as he read the short message on the outside. He looked up quickly and met Jeremy's eyes. "Is this for real?" he asked feverishly. "It isn't a joke?"

When Jeremy shook his head confirming it was legitimate, Alaric looked around the room. Clearing his throat, he read what it said. Everything – including time – seemed to stop. No one spoke, no one even moved.

Finally, Elena let out a strangled keening sound. "Seriously?" she gritted out. "You're actually saying that is a letter from them? That they're-"

Jeremy nodded. "You guys better read it. Damon explains everything…where they are and stuff, I mean."

"Damon wrote it?" Elena asked weakly.

Alaric glanced quickly around the room before meeting Caroline's eyes. She gave a quick nod and he handed the letter to Elena. "You read it," he said quietly.

With quaking hands, Elena unfolded the paper. Her voice was shaky as she began to read.

_I tried to tell Bonnie, considering how many times she's already croaked, that none of you would actually believe that we're dead. Still, we decided to send word just in case you were worried._

_Our current situation is…surprising. Buckle up kids, because it turns out time travel is a thing. Before any of you go doubting my word – think about it. Is it really that hard to believe after everything else we've seen? I'm actually writing this in the living room of Sheila Bennett, circa 1983. I couldn't make up a story like this if I tried._

_We've been staying at the boarding house – the Salvatores are less than thrilled to have me around – as usual, but at least we can stay hidden there. We knew we'd need help from someone though, which is where Grams comes in. We knew we could trust her not to blab our identities all over town – and she hasn't tried to stake me yet, so things could be worse._

Elena paused and blew out a quick breath before continuing. The letter went on to briefly explain how Bonnie was able to project herself into the present and how they'd figured out how to influence Jeremy to find their letter. He then went on to warn them that they couldn't regularly pass messages back and forth.

…_So, if you need to get word to us, leave a message somewhere in plain sight that'll be easy for Bonnie to notice. She doesn't have a lot of control over what she can do when she's visiting (Let's all take a moment to thank the Traveler's spell for that one, shall we?). We won't be able to send you word regularly, this whole thing is a little more complicated than passing notes in study hall. Bonnie needs to conserve her energy. I'm guessing whatever spell we come up with to get back home will be a doozy. When we do figure something out, we'll get you word again. In the unlikely event you all manage to come up with any decent ideas without me, let us know._

_I promised Bonnie I'd keep the personal stuff to a minimum since there will be time for all that once we're back, but from what little she was able to glean from spying on Jeremy, it sounds like things might not be going so well there. Somebody knock my brother over the head for me, okay? He needs to strap on the hero hair and start doing what he does best – saving my ass. And…Elena? I know your brother will be reading this first, so I'll save the X-rated stuff for the next letter. Just hang in there, okay? I won't let anything happen to Bonnie – I promise you. I promise that to all of you. I know the last promise I gave you was that I'd make it back to you, and I am still working on it, okay? I said I'd make it happen, I never said how long it would take. That means you can't be pissed. _

_As for the rest of you – just keep reminding my girl that I love her. Bonnie misses all of you, and we're doing everything we can to get back. We've been through worse than this and made it out just fine, right? Seriously, if you ask me – the fact that most of you can't set foot in Mystic Falls sucks worse than a little pesky accidental time traveling. Maybe you guys should start focusing on how to fix __**that**__. When I get back there I'm going to want to be able to go check on my house and make sure Little Gilbert hasn't let it burn down in my absence. _

_Anyway, you'll be hearing from us again. Hopefully soon. I bet most of you thought you'd never be so happy to hear from me in the first place, am I right? –Damon_

There was a long silence when Elena finished reading. Everybody sat quietly as they processed everything they'd just learned.

"Wow," Caroline finally said. "I can't believe…" she shook her hand and repeated, "Wow."

"They're alive," Jeremy said wonderingly. "I mean, I know we all refused to believe anything else – but really _knowing_ it now is crazy." He laughed a little, "I thought I would explode on the drive over here."

"But time travel?" Caroline said in an irritated voice. "Really?"

"Yeah…" Alaric said with a nod. "That's definitely a new one. I honestly thought nothing would ever surprise me again. But nope, here we are."

"So what do we do?" Matt asked. "How are we supposed to find anything related to time travel that isn't totally bogus? Anyone we could possibly ask would probably either laugh us out of the room or tell us to fire up the TARDIS."

Tyler snorted. "Dude, I still can't believe you watch that show."

Noticing how quiet Elena and Stefan were, Alaric looked them over. "You two okay?" he asked worriedly.

Stefan cleared his throat. "I'm actually trying to remember what part of the early 80s I spent in Mystic Falls. I hope we don't cross paths." He winced. "Damon and I weren't on very good terms."

"Really?" Caroline asked incredulously. "That's the first place your mind went?"

Stefan shrugged a little helplessly. "I'm having a little trouble processing, okay? I don't…I've been blocking off thinking anything related to my brother. I'm a little apprehensive about letting it all back in."

Elena barked out a short laugh. "No kidding!" she said before shaking her head dismissively. "Knowing they're alive was always just the first step, you guys. It doesn't do us a lot of good when they're stuck in 1983. How the hell are we supposed to figure out how to get them back? Damon was right," she said a little bitterly. "We're better off focusing on getting back into Mystic Falls. At least Shane had plenty of research on the Travelers."

Caroline frowned. "Elena…"

"No, seriously Caroline!" Elena said sharply. "We know nothing about time travel. _Nothing_! Bonnie is the one that we'd all go to for answers with this – and Damon is always the one willing to execute plans that sound absolutely insane to everyone else. We're useless to them," she finished quietly.

No one argued with her.

"Well," Alaric finally said. "Elena might be right. If Bonnie and Damon were here, they probably _would_ be the ones to come up with a workable plan to retrieve somebody from the past. And…they might not be here, but that doesn't mean we can't still trust them to get it done." He smiled slightly. "Like Damon said, it'd be nice if he actually could go home once they get back here. So why don't we make that happen?"


	7. Chapter 7

Later that night, still a little in shock, Elena leaned her head against the window and stared at the moon. She felt Caroline coming up behind her, but she just stayed in place.

"Not right now, okay Caroline? I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood, Elena. Not for me. And that ends _right now_!"

Turning slightly to stare at Caroline in surprise, Elena didn't reply.

"Seriously, Elena. We need to be a team right now. You know…work together to solve a problem? Like we've always done before?"

"This isn't like before-" Elena started before Caroline cut in.

"No kidding! This time one of my best friends refuses to talk to me while the other one turns out to be trapped in the past. In the _past_, Elena!" Caroline waved an arm in the air in emphasis. "What the hell? It's like we're living in a bad movie!"

Elena snorted. "Our entire lives have pretty much been that way, Caroline."

"But we've always had each other," Caroline replied quietly. "What's the point of fighting for all of this – getting everyone back and finding a way to get home – if we can't do it together?"

Elena sighed. "I'm not trying to make this harder – of course I want them back! More than anybody else!"

"That's your problem, Elena! You've closed off so many emotions that you can't see it. You think because Damon isn't my favorite person that I would ever wish any of this on him? He's always rescued me when he could, and I owe him nothing less." Caroline shook her head. "You know me, Elena. You know I'd do anything for you – anything to fight for our friends."

Elena threw up her hands and shrugged. "Okay, I believe you!"

Not exactly the apologetic response she'd been hoping for. "So…you'll stop being a total bitch every time I walk into a room?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes Caroline, I'll stop being a bitch." Elena replied obediently, rolling her eyes.

Caroline clapped. "Good enough for me! Okay. Now that that's settled, you're coming with me." She jerked at Elena's arm and started towing her toward the door. Getting Elena talking to her again was a strong first step, but anyone could see how off she still was. This emotion-lite Elena - seemingly normal sometimes, freakishly off-balance at others? She needed to go. Especially now that they knew Bonnie and Damon were out there somewhere.

* * *

"You brought me to a park? In the middle of the night?" Elena looked around in confusion.

"Yup!" Caroline replied as she led Elena to one of the pavilions. "Although technically, it's almost sunrise."

"Okay. So what are we doing?"

"I know we're all vampires," Caroline started, "But you and I? We're a lot different from Stefan and Damon."

Elena dug her feet into the ground. "I'm not going any further until you tell me what you're trying to do right now, Caroline. Seriously – what is this?"

Caroline turned back to look at her. "Elena, we just found out that our best friend, not to mention the love of your life, are both _alive_. After months of not knowing. We should be celebrating!"

Elena shook her head. "Not until we know there is at least the smallest possibility that we can actually find a way to get them back here."

"Well," Caroline said. "Either way, now that at least one of my best friends is here willing to talk to me? You're going to humor me. So listen up and come with me already." At that, she nodded toward the roof of the pavilion they'd stopped in front of. "We're going up there."

"Okay?" Elena gave in, shook her head and jumped.

Once they were both settled on their backs looking up at the stars, Caroline continued what she'd started saying earlier. "Anyway, like I said, we're different from them, you know? We haven't had to watch people we know grow old and die, or move away because people started noticing that we don't age." She shook her head. "Stefan and Damon have had to do all that, sometimes I forget that they've been alive for so long."

"Yeah, it's weird to think about," Elena agreed. "Especially considering we _will_ have to go through all those things."

"Together," Caroline said, nudging her. "At least we have each other – and them."

"And Alaric," Elena added.

"Imagine being stuck as our pseudo-parental figure for eternity?" Caroline said with a mock shudder. "Poor guy."

Elena snorted.

"Anyway, my point is that no matter how many ways we're different from them, there is one thing about being vampires that the four of us do share." She paused and held up her hand. "These," she said, meaning their daylight rings. "None of us have ever had to fear the sun. Most vampires live based around not being able to set foot outside during daylight hours." Caroline shook her head before finishing quietly, "I can't imagine having to live like that."

Elena didn't say anything, but Caroline saw her nod in agreement.

"The only reason you and I get to live halfway normal lives right now is because of Bonnie. Because our best friend trusted us enough to give us our freedom. So," Caroline nodded toward the first hint of sunrise, "we're going to stay up here together and watch the sun come up and be grateful that Bonnie is still out there somewhere."

"And that we're going to see her again," Elena added quietly as another peace offering, smiling a little before linking her arm around Caroline's.

Progress. Caroline smiled to herself. It wasn't exactly an emotional breakthrough, but it was a start.

* * *

"God, I can't believe I'm saying this – but I wish Damon was here," Caroline slammed the book she'd been studying closed in frustration. When she looked up, she saw Jeremy, Matt and Alaric all looking at her in surprise.

"What?" she snapped defensively.

Jeremy shrugged. "Just surprised, I guess. Even if we are hitting dead ends, I just figured you'd rather have Bonnie here to help than Damon."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Well duh, I want Bonnie here to help! There isn't a moment of the day when I don't miss her. The moments in which I actively wish for Damon? They come around a little less often, so I felt the need to express myself. Okay?"

Matt snorted.

"Well," Caroline continued, "at least he'd give us something to _do_ besides sitting here accomplishing nothing! He was the plan guy."

"Yeah, okay," Jeremy started. "So what would he do right now if he was here?"

Alaric laughed. "Easy – first thing he'd do is pour a drink." Alaric toasted the half-empty bottle he was holding in the air and took a swallow.

"Then he'd insult us," Matt said, continuing the theme. Trying to imitate Damon's voice, he barked, "Guess I shouldn't be surprised you morons haven't found anything. I'm still getting over the initial shock that any of you know how to read at all!"

Everybody laughed. "Oh God," Caroline wheezed, "that sounds just like him!"

"Okay, then he'd bring up just killing whoever was behind the problem," Matt said.

Jeremy continued, "Yeah, and then everybody would yell at him. Elena would convince him not to run off half-crazy-"

"…and then he'd scowl and pour another drink," Alaric finished.

Still laughing, Caroline said, "Next, one of us would suggest something and he'd start yelling-"

"Yeah," Jeremy said with a snort. Doing his best Damon-voice, he snapped, "Hell no! Absolutely not! There's a 2% chance Elena might get hurt! We're not doing it!"

Quieter, Caroline said, "Now he'd probably tell someone to call Bonnie if she wasn't already there."

"Yeah, but he'd call her something else. Bonnie the Teenage Witch or The Wicked Witch of the West or something," Matt chimed in.

"And if she couldn't fix the problem right away," Jeremy continued, "he'd start getting mad and threaten to kill one of us." Pausing for a minute, he rolled his eyes. "Probably me. Again."

"Yeah, but once he got all that out of his system, he'd come up with an actual plan." Alaric said.

"You know, it's funny. When I first decided that we all needed to stop moping around and start doing something to fix all this?" Caroline laid back on the floor as she spoke, staring at the ceiling. "Damon was the first person I wanted to call. Not because I like him – definitely not because I thought he'd make me feel better. I just knew he wouldn't stand for any of us sitting around when something needed to get done." She laughed a little. "Then I realized – if he'd been here? The past few months would have never happened. If he hadn't been the one stuck over there, he'd have given us about five minutes to feel sorry for ourselves before he started barking out orders."

"He has helped save Bonnie more than once," Jeremy agreed. "It almost makes up for the fact that he likes to try and kill me every time he gets pissed off about something," he continued dryly.

"Yeah well, all I know is that we're lucky they're somewhere they can work on figuring this out too," Matt said. "The two of them are the ones that aren't afraid to do what needs to be done. Even if Damon does act like an ass the entire time he's doing it," he couldn't help but add.

"Yeah, but they don't work as well without us to balance them out," Caroline said worriedly. "And they sure as hell don't work well _together_. How do you think Damon is doing without Elena and Stefan to keep him under control? Or Bonnie without all of us to keep her from trying to do too much?"

"Damon is probably driving her nuts," Jeremy agreed.

"Not to mention Grams – she hates Damon!" Caroline said. "Or at least she did – does – will? Whatever, time travel makes me dizzy. I'm just saying, I can't imagine the three of them being able to work together."

"No," Jeremy argued. "Damon will suck it up. He's a complete dick – but he'd do anything to get back to my sister."

"Plus, when he pisses her off, Bonnie probably just does that brain frying thing to shut him up," Caroline said with a shrug.

They all snorted. That was easy to imagine.

* * *

"Dirt?" Damon asked incredulously. "You want to base the success of a kamikaze time travel spell on _dirt_?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You aren't listening!" she snapped impatiently. "I'm not telling you that I think we can throw some dirt in the air and poof back to the present. I'm just _saying_," she paused for emphasis, "that I think it's a good place to start."

Finally sitting down, Damon nodded slightly. "I'm listening."

"Well, unsurprisingly, we haven't been able to find anything about time travel specifically," Bonnie said, glancing at Sheila. "But we have found spells talking about linking places together..."

"And one about cleansing a gap," Sheila added.

"A gap?" Damon shook his head. "I don't speak witchinese. Translate please."

Bonnie growled under her breath in frustration at his attitude, but managed to swallow down some of the choice things she'd have liked to say. "Think about the house where I could contact the spirits. Technically, the before-and-after of the witch massacre left a gap. After the massacre, the essence of the land changed."

"And that's why you could draw power from it," Damon said, slowly understanding. "Wait a second! That actually makes sense!"

"Yes indeed, imagine that," Sheila said sarcastically. Bonnie bit back a laugh.

"No," Damon shook his head. "I mean it! We can work with that. Before and after?" he stood up and began pacing excitedly before turning to look at Bonnie. "That implies _time_, Bonnie!"

"Yes…" Bonnie agreed slowly.

"So, you're saying that, if you wanted to, you could cleanse the massacre site?" Damon asked. "By doing a spell that closes the gap – meaning that you'd make it like all the time between then and now never happened?"

"Well, not literally," Bonnie said. "More like we'd be cancelling it out. Purifying – finding a balance."

Damon nodded slowly, still thinking. "Is it like that whole thing the Travelers were always crying about? Undoing some supposedly unnatural magic to restore balance with the universe or whatever?"

Sheila, totally lost, raised an eyebrow. Bonnie bit her lip, trying to figure out where Damon was going with this. "Maybe?" she said. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," Damon said, "that I can't, at this moment, think of something much more unnatural to the balance of nature than time traveling."

"I think I'm beginning to understand," Sheila said. "So you think we can figure out a way to change the basic nature of the spell? Instead of looping time around to cleanse a specific place – you think we should try cleansing time itself?" She frowned, trying to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Well, Bonnie and I aren't exactly a massacre site," Damon said. "But if what you're saying about the purpose of the spell being to restore balance is true? Technically we are an anomaly or whatever of time. Maybe the same principal applies? After all, we don't want to actually erase any time, we just want to return to when we came from."

"You are totally speaking witchinese," Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Damon. "I barely understand what you're saying."

Damon smirked at her. "What can I say? I'm modest about my extensive abilities."

Bonnie stared at him incredulously before shaking her head and turning to Sheila. "So does any of what he just said actually make sense? I mean, he is right about the basic nature of the spell…"

Sheila shook her head. "This is going to take some thinking, baby. The thought of cleansing a time imbalance…"

"Plus, you said you have spells that link places together," Damon pointed out. "I don't really know what that means either, but it sure sounds good."

They all sat quietly in thought for a few minutes before Damon broke the silence. "Wait a second – the dirt! You never explained what the hell that was about."

"Right," Bonnie said. "Well, going back to the massacre site…we obviously can't actually cleanse it since we need to be able to contact the witch spirits…"

"Uh huh," Damon nodded, following along.

"But we could take a piece of it and cleanse it individually."

"A piece? You mean…a dirt sample," Damon said.

"I know it sounds lame," Bonnie said. "But you know how powerful talismans can be."

"Yes," Sheila said in agreement. "And if we intend to reinterpret the spell for our own needs, having a talisman made from the successfully completed original spell could be a potent charm."

"Hey, you want me to get a dirt sample? I'll get a dirt sample," Damon said affably. "Hell, you want me to make a chain of skunk tails to wave around while you chant? I'll start skinning some rodents. Whatever it takes to get home."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "This whole conversation started because you were complaining about my idea. Why'd you argue if you're apparently willing to be so agreeable?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well I _am_ still me."


	8. Chapter 8

"You look terrible," Damon said bluntly, looking Bonnie up and down.

"I hope you're nicer to Elena when she wakes up in the mornings," Bonnie grumbled. "Anyway, it's not my fault. I was up all night."

"Dare I ask?"

"Well," Bonnie started hesitantly. "I think I might have a thought."

"A thought?" Damon prompted, trying to be patient.

"Well, I was thinking about what we were talking about yesterday with Grams. I wasn't thinking far enough ahead – I say we screw the whole talisman thing and use the actual massacre site."

"Whoa, there. I swear to God, Bonnie," Damon said warningly, "if you're about to go loony toons and start back in on that weird expression-y mass murder crap, I will develop a permanent twitch in my eye."

"Relax, you asshat," Bonnie snapped. "Once again you didn't let me finish! What I was about to say is that I think we'll draw more power from using the site itself than trying to cleanse part of it. We can focus the cleansing part of the spell on _us_ – we're the anomaly, after all."

It only took Damon a few seconds to connect the dots. "So we go there to cast the actual spell?"

Bonnie nodded. "And hopefully end up exactly where we started there in the old house – just 30 years later."

Damon nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

"The whole talisman thing gave me another idea, though," Bonnie said. "About fixing Mystic Falls once we do get back. I'll talk to Grams about that too. You coming?" she asked as she shrugged on her coat.

"Nope," Damon said. "I'm in need of…sustenance." Seeing Bonnie narrow her eyes, Damon quickly added, "Relax on the witchy patrol! I'm going to head to a hospital a few hours from here and hit the blood bank. Far enough away that it hopefully won't raise any red flags with the council."

"Being cautious? How unlike you," Bonnie said warily. "It's starting to make me nervous, actually."

"You're worried because I'm not eating people?" Damon asked incredulously. "Excuse me for trying to exercise some restraint!"

"See, there it is!" Bonnie replied. "Restraint isn't exactly your middle name. What's up with you being so careful? You aren't going to randomly snap and go on a rampage are you?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "It's not like I walk down main street snapping necks willy nilly back home. What's the big deal?"

"You're just…I don't know. Calm about it."

"Well," Damon shrugged. "This whole time warp thing is creepy as hell. How do we know that even the slightest things we do won't change something? What if I pick a random woman off the street, feed on her and kill her – and it turns out she was going to be the person that stops Elena's baby stroller from rolling out into the street in a few years?"

Bonnie snorted.

"Hey!" Damon said defensively. "You don't know! I just don't want to risk changing anything. This whole thing freaks me the hell out."

"Yeah, okay. I guess I get it," Bonnie said. "Whatever keeps me from having to worry about you doing something stupid."

"Your confidence is touching," Damon said dryly as he gave a mock salute and headed out the door.

Glaring at his back, Bonnie followed.

* * *

Caroline plopped down onto the bed next to Stefan. "Awake yet?" she asked cheerily.

"UUUhhhhh," Stefan mumbled, rolling over and shoving his head under the pillow. "I am now."

"Well get up! I need your help. We need to fix Elena!"

"Not this again," Stefan moaned. "Seriously, Caroline."

"What?" she asked defensively. "Now that we know Bonnie and Damon are alive, there's no reason for her to keep being all…" she waved her hand in the air searching for the right word, "weird."

Stefan sighed, moved the pillow behind his head and crossed his arms. "She's not actually that far off the rails." He shrugged. "So she isn't ready to let all her emotions back in – so what? She'll still be able to help us figure out a plan."

"But she's not herself! Since when are you okay with this? I thought you'd always want to help her, no matter what!"

"Caroline, I _do_ want to help her. Of course I do. But I also know that we can't. Maybe it would be different if I thought Damon and Bonnie weren't coming back – but they are. I think we should just leave well enough alone. Once they're back, she'll be okay."

Caroline huffed. "Is this like some weird Salvatore brother jealousy thing? Because-"

"No, Caroline!" Stefan interrupted in frustration. "If I thought there was a good way to help her get back on an even keel, I'd do it. I honestly believe that waiting for Damon and Bonnie is the way to go." He looked over at her. "You don't have to fix everything all at once," he continued gently. "Just leave her be for now. Okay?"

After a few moments of silence, he sighed deeply. "Besides, I'm pretty sure we all have bigger problems to worry about."

* * *

"I really do get it, you know," Bonnie said later that night. She was actually getting used to being forced to stay in Damon's room with him – she'd take a fold-out cot in here over staying in one of the other rooms alone any day of the week. The thought of feeling safer with Damon was a cosmic joke, but she didn't know what his family might try to pull if they got her alone and thought she needed to be rescued. The way they eyed her looking for bite marks every time they came across each other freaked her out.

"Get what?" Damon asked.

"The whole time thing…it is weird. Part of me is dying to tell Grams things about the future – warn her about what will happen when we open the tomb, you know? Try to prevent her from dying."

"Yeah," Damon shifted to fold his hands behind his head. "I figured it would be on your mind."

"Who knows what the consequences would be, though. I mean, look what's happened before when I messed with things I didn't really understand. I'm afraid that what might happen if she knew too much would be worse."

"Still though, it must be hard not to say anything. I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"_Seriously_?" Bonnie was incredulous.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't be pissed – God only knows. I'd probably have to break my no killing in the past rule and carve you into tiny pieces. I'm just saying – I understand the impulse."

"That sounds more like the Damon I know and loathe. What would you do if we didn't have to worry about changing things?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Well, seeing as how I'm not big on torturing children, most of the people on my wishful-thinking-hit-list are safe," he started. "Logan Fell – he'd be around by now right? Maybe that asshole Bill Forbes…let's see him try to resist compulsion now. Or oh oh! I'd love to poke John Gilbert's eyes out and feed them to the birds, but seeing as he needs to grow up in order for Elena to exist, he's pretty much the safest guy in town."

"Why did I ask?" Bonnie moaned. "You are _such_ a creep."

"And don't I know it," Damon replied cheerfully. "Actually…" he hesitated, not sure he really wanted to voice his real thoughts. "There is one thing."

"Yeah?" Bonnie was curious, sensing that he was serious this time.

"It's just…you know how you used to always tell me how much better Elena's life would be if she'd never met me?"

Bonnie didn't know how to reply.

"I know you're right – I've always known it. How could I not? When I followed Stefan back to Mystic Falls, everything changed. It's like we're all stuck now, no matter what we do. We keep getting dragged into things. You know?"

Bonnie interrupted. "Damon, I-"

"No, seriously. Elena got cheated out of a normal life. If things were different, she'd be a normal human girl in college. Maybe she'd have dated freaking Aaron Whitmore himself. Who knows?" Damon shook his head. "I keep thinking – it'd be so easy to just compel every single Gilbert family member in Mystic Falls to get the hell out of here and never look back."

"You know that wouldn't necessarily-"

"I know," Damon interrupted. "Who knows what would come of it. It's just a fantasy. The thought of Elena getting to have the human life she's always wanted. Plus," Damon pointed out, "That would fix things for all of you. Jeremy would be safe…or at least as safe as an idiot with little to no brain function can be. Vampire Barbie would be Annoying Human Barbie. You'd probably still think all the witchy stuff was your Grams' drunken hallucinations."

"I can't even picture it," Bonnie said. "Being normal doesn't really even appeal to me anymore. I think too much has happened for any of us to be okay with going back."

"Yeah well, look at that – something we agree on," Damon said mockingly.

"You'd really do it, wouldn't you? If it could really work. Even if it meant you'd never even meet Elena."

Damon sighed and turned over, facing away from Bonnie. "I don't know, Bonnie. I'm a pretty selfish guy. It was just a thought."

"You would," Bonnie said quietly. "Sometimes I think you live to make horrible judgment calls – but not when it comes to her."

Damon was quiet for several minutes before replying, "Gee, Hecate. I'm blushing."

Bonnie clenched her fists. She was definitely going to lose her patience and kill him before this was all over.

* * *

"Stefan?" Alaric asked in surprise as he opened the door. "What's going on?"

"Elena's already gone, right?" Stefan asked, stepping into the apartment and looking around.

"Yeah, she had an early class."

"Good. We need to talk."

Alaric plopped down onto the couch. "Well, that doesn't sound good."

Sitting across from him, Stefan sighed and bowed his head. "It's not. I don't want to tell the others about this because I don't want them to worry. At least, not yet. Not unless we have to."

"Okay?" Alaric prompted worriedly.

"I burned all my journals, so I can't be absolutely certain, but…I'm almost positive I saw Damon in Mystic Falls in 1983."


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you serious?" Alaric asked urgently. "You're saying you think you – 1983 you – saw _our_ Damon back then?"

"I'm as sure as I can be," Stefan said. "I usually have a pretty good memory, but we had so many run-ins over the years, they all kinda blend together."

"Well, that's good, right? If you don't remember anything about it, then nothing notable must have happened."

"Well, that's the problem." Stefan shook his head. "Just because I don't remember anything noteworthy going down doesn't mean I didn't unknowingly screw something up. I mean…think about it. Damon and I were practically enemies back then. Who knows what me showing up in town could do to whatever he and Bonnie are planning?"

Alaric rested his head on the back of the couch and sighed. "Just when you think things can't get any more complicated…"

"Tell me about it," Stefan muttered.

* * *

"She refused to leave, you know," Bonnie said out of nowhere. "They both did."

"Hmm?" It was the middle of the night, but neither one of them could sleep.

"Elena and Stefan. Neither one of them wanted to leave the Other Side without you."

"Ah," Damon replied, not really knowing what to say.

"I grabbed Elena and took her back against her will." Bonnie laughed a little. "God, she was so mad at me –yelling that she couldn't leave without you. Then, on my way back to the Other Side, I tripped and Stefan reached out to catch me."

Damon smiled to himself. "That sounds like my baby bro, ever the gentleman."

"Yeah well," Bonnie said. "He was devastated."

Damon sighed. "Bonnie? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because…you haven't been a total jerk since we got stuck here. I thought…I don't know. I just wanted to tell you."

"Thanks," he said quietly, trying to decide whether it made it hurt more or less. "It's good things turned out like they did – Elena would never really want to leave Jeremy. And I know Ric and Stefan will take care of them no matter how things turn out for us. They'll all be okay," he finished quietly into the darkness.

After that, neither he nor Bonnie spoke for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Of course I'm coming!" Damon insisted loudly. "Like hell I'll stay behind."

"Damon," Bonnie growled. "I don't know how time works for them…and you aren't exactly their favorite person. If they don't know who I am, you're not going to help me make a great first impression!"

Ever since Bonnie had announced that she needed to talk to the witch spirits, they'd been arguing.

"Fine, no problem! I'll wait outside. But I can't just wait around here all day doing nothing, Bonnie. And considering I don't really fancy kicking it all day with your Grams…."

Bonnie sighed. "Fine, fine. Let's just go. I need to see how much they're willing to help us before we can figure out what to do next."

Damon smiled at her and gestured toward the door. "After you."

* * *

"We're the doppelgangers!" Elena announced suddenly, breaking the silence of the room as everyone dug steadily through all the Traveler research they'd turned up.

Everyone stared at her worriedly, wondering if she'd actually lost her mind. "Um…Elena? That's kind of old news," Caroline said mildly.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm not crazy," she insisted. "It's just that…the whole point of the Traveler's Spell was to cancel out witch magic, right?" Seeing a few nods, she continued. "Okay – and they needed mine and Stefan's blood to do it. Because we were the last remaining doppelgangers."

"Okay…?" Alaric said, trying to prompt her. "Where are you going with this, Elena?"

"Well, I'm just thinking…what if we weren't the doppelgangers anymore?"

"What the hell, Elena!" Jeremy tried not to freak out. Was she actually suggesting that someone kill her?

"I'm serious – think about it!" Elena jumped up, pacing back and forth, blind to the anxious faces staring at her. "If there was a way to somehow undo the spell – or curse or whatever – that made Stefan and me the doppelgangers, then our blood wouldn't be powerful anymore!"

"Oh thank goodness," Caroline muttered under her breath, relieved that Elena wasn't spouting off about a death wish.

"Wait…okay," Stefan started slowly. "I think I get it. You're saying that since the Travelers needed our blood to cancel out the original witch spell, maybe if our blood wasn't potent anymore, we could somehow cancel out the spell _they_ cast?"

Elena snapped her fingers. "Yes!"

"Huh," Alaric mused. "That actually makes a little bit of sense." He furrowed his brow before continuing, "I think."

Caroline tapped her finger on her chin. "Yeah guys, this is definitely Bonnie territory."

"Wait!" Jeremy said excitedly. "Don't forget – we can ask her! Is there any poster board in here? Someone write this all down so that she can see it if she does that visiting thing! I'll hang it over the fireplace."

* * *

"Well, what's the verdict?" Damon asked impatiently once Bonnie finally exited the old house.

"Damon, they actually remember me! I'm still connected to their power and everything," she shook her head in amazement. "How is that possible?"

"Let's not think too hard on that, huh?" Damon cringed. "I swear, all this time paradox stuff…instant migraine."

"Yeah well, however it's possible – it sure is convenient."

"Well, that's just great," Damon said dryly. "If something actually seems to be going our way, that probably means something awful is about to happen. Think we could survive being hit by a stray meteorite?"

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh. "So, do you want to hear what they had to say or not?"

Damon grinned at her. "Continue!"

"They insist that there is absolutely no spell that can get us back to the present. Not directly."

Damon raised both eyebrows. "They actually said that – not directly?"

Bonnie nodded in reply.

Damon groaned. "Those capricious bitches! They can't ever just spell it out, can they? They just keep dropping veiled hints and cackling around their crystal balls watching us run around like chickens with their heads cut off."

"Yeah, you waiting out here? Definitely a good idea." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Let's go see what Grams has to say about this, shall we?"

She paused before turning toward town. "Damon?" she said, grabbing his arm and beaming. "Not directly means there _is_ a way! We're going to figure this out!"

* * *

That night, Damon sat in his chair staring at the ceiling, waiting while Bonnie did her weird traveley thing to check on things at home. She hadn't done it in a few days, and even though neither of them admitted it aloud – they were hoping for a message from their friends.

"DAMON!" He jumped as Bonnie raced into the room. "They wrote us! Elena has an idea…"

* * *

The next afternoon, Jeremy broke land speed records getting to Whitmore to meet everybody.

"Guys!" Jeremy crashed into Alaric's office excitedly. "They wrote back! We got a letter from Bonnie this time!"

_My turn to write a letter!_

_Things are interesting here. Going over to talk to Grams every day is so weird – terrible and awesome both. I definitely don't recommend time traveling. Figuring out what might or might not change things is giving both of us a headache…on top of Damon being a permanent headache on his own. (Although surprisingly, he's not being a total ass. Never tell him I said that.)_

_Anyway, we're working on a plan. Basically all we've really got so far is that we're pretty sure the old witch house is the best place to cast whatever spell we come up with – we're hoping we can figure out a way to end up inside of it back in 2012. (We're lucky it's outside the Traveler spell perimeter.) Anyway, we've got a lot of half-formed ideas we're chasing down. Hopefully it'll come together soon._

_One thing – I'm pretty sure that whatever we do, we'll need some magical help from your end. Do we happen to be on speaking terms with Liv and Luke? Since Damon wasn't there to kill them after the plan kinda fell apart there at the end, I'm assuming you can get them to help us? It shouldn't end up being anything too major – I'll do the heavy lifting. If nothing else, tell them we might have figured out a way to get back into Mystic Falls. That should motivate them. Fixing that mess might take their entire coven._

_Destroying the doppelganger spell is definitely a great idea, Elena! Although now I have to listen to Damon ranting constantly about how there is no way he's going to stand outside the city limits chanting while waving a vial of your blood around. (Are you guys sure you really want me to bring him back?)_

_Anyway, don't go un-doppeling yourself just yet. (Damon's words, not mine!) Hearing your idea gave him one about getting us back there. We might actually end up needing to use your blood, believe it or not. If the idea pans out, I'll give you the details later._

_I miss you guys! It's so weird being in Mystic Falls – in this house, no less – without all of you. We spend pretty much every single minute of the day trying to figure out how to get home, so don't worry. We will. If there's one thing Damon and I agree on, it's that._

_I love you guys – and we'll see you __soon__. -Bonnie_

* * *

Damon was listless. Bonnie had gone back to Sheila's house for dinner, and he certainly didn't begrudge her the family time. He just hated not having anything to do. Any minute not spent trying to get back to Elena and Stefan felt almost physically painful.

Exiting the shower, he scrubbed a towel across his face as he walked back into his bedroom. Sensing something off, he stopped in his tracks and looked up.

Feeling like he'd been staked in the stomach, all the air left his body.

"Stefan?" he gasped in shock.


	10. Chapter 10

"I can't believe they both agreed to come!" Elena said in surprise. When Caroline came in and said Liv and Luke were both on their way to meet with them they'd all been shocked.

"Are you kidding? Their whole thing all along has been preventing the Travelers from ending witch magic. I call them and say we have an idea about how to fix it? They practically started their car before hanging up the phone." Caroline scrunched her nose. "I wish Bonnie was back, though. Is there even any point in talking to them without her?"

Alaric shrugged. "Can't hurt. We can at least get them on board to help so they'll be on standby when we get word Bonnie and Damon have a plan to get home."

When the twins arrived, they had a stranger with them. Before anyone could ask, Liv introduced her. "This is Johnna, the leader of our coven."

Jeremy had to try not to smirk. She looked more like she belonged in the kitchen baking cookies for her grandkids than leading a magical coven.

Johnna raised her eyebrows as she looked the group over. "So you're the ones who've stirred up all this commotion?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. I hear you have a plan of some type to restore magic to your town?"

Alaric had to hide a smile. He felt like they'd been scolded by one of the Golden Girls.

"Er, yes…ma'am," Caroline said.

Tyler muffled a laugh. "Ma'am?" he mouthed at her jokingly.

She rolled her eyes at him before continuing. "Is there a way that the same blood that caused the spell could be used to fix it? We were wondering if there was a way to - I'm not sure what word to use, cleanse? purify? – Elena and Stefan's blood and then use it in a counter-spell of some kind?"

"Hmm," Johnna said musingly. "Well, certainly the most common way to cancel out a previous spell is to cast it again in reverse." She shook her head. "I don't think just sanitizing their blood would be powerful enough on its own."

"Oh," Caroline said disappointingly. Everyone hunched their shoulders in defeat.

Johnna still looked thoughtful. "I wonder…" she started quietly before looking closely at everyone. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but how many of you have died at least once by supernatural means?"

They all looked at each other and laughed. "Uh…all of us?" Matt said.

Johnna's eyebrows shot up. Liv caught her eye and smirked. "I told you they're all cursed, didn't I?"

"Yeah, or just insane," Luke muttered under his breath.

Johnna still looked slightly taken aback. "But you're not all vampires, surely?"

"It's complicated," Jeremy said quickly as Caroline simultaneously said "Long story!"

"Okay. Did all of these occurrences happen inside the current boundaries of the Traveler spell?" Johnna asked.

Jeremy frowned. "Some of us have died more than once. Does that matter?"

Johnna nodded. "Yes, we'd only be concerned with the first time."

"Okay well," Caroline pointed as she spoke. "Damon killed Alaric at the boarding house. That was the first time you died, right?" Alaric nodded. "Okay, and Jeremy's was when Damon broke his neck at your old house…"

"What about me?" Matt asked. "I guess drowning doesn't count, does it? That would put me in the woods behind the boarding house when Damon killed me to fix Elena."

Luke smirked. "Jeez, has Damon killed _all_ of you? Maybe you should just let him stay where he is. Sounds like it'd be safer."

Seeing Stefan and Elena both tense up defensively, Caroline quickly intervened. "And maybe we'll banish you there so you can have your turn with him," she said sweetly. "He's bound to be hungry by now."

Seeing Luke open his mouth to speak, Johnna snapped her fingers at him. "Hush, child! Don't speak until you can be helpful." Turning back to the others with a smile, she gestured at them. "Please continue."

Caroline nodded. "I was turned at the hospital. Tyler was at the high school."

"Don't forget Bonnie," Jeremy added. "She was technically dead when she cast that spell at the school to fool Klaus."

"And the two doppelgangers?" Johnna inquired.

"The first time I died was outside of the boundary – a clearing in the woods outside of town," Elena said.

Stefan nodded, "Damon and I were both killed outside the boundary as well – an old path that ran along the edge of the old Lockwood property."

Johnna's eyes lit up. "But both these places are nearby?" she asked excitedly.

"Uh…yeah," Stefan said slowly, "both right outside of town."

"But on opposite ends!" Caroline added, wanting to be exact.

Johnna clapped her hands. "This is perfect!" she declared. She turned to Liv and Luke expectantly. "Surely you see the significance?"

The twins glanced at each other before turning back to Johnna. "Sorry, not getting it," Liv said with a shrug.

Johnna tsked at them disappointingly before addressing the group at large. "Allow me to explain. When you die supernaturally, a magical trace is left behind."

Alaric nodded. "Like at all the massacre sites that opened the expression triangle?"

Johnna nodded. "Obviously, when only one person dies, it is a much smaller scale. But still – nature remembers the occurrence all the same. Now, the doppelgangers both died right outside of the Traveler spell boundary line, which means there will be a small amount of blood memory we can draw from."

Liv frowned. "You mean we could use their death sites as a power source?"

Johnna nodded. "Exactly." She smiled at Caroline. "This is where your original idea of using their blood would come in. We can purify it directly over the point of their deaths and push the power such a spell would create outwards."

"Outwards? Like into Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked, trying to understand.

"If we did both spells simultaneously," Johnna said, nodding, "that combined power would be quite impressive."

"Yes!" Luke sat up straight. "And since the two places bookend the town, we could send them toward each other! They'd unite and BOOM!" he used his hands to imitate an explosion, "Traveler spell gone."

"Seriously?" Alaric jumped in. "That would actually work?"

Johnna nodded. "I certainly believe so."

"Why did you ask about the rest of us dying, then?" Alaric asked curiously.

"Ah, yes. Consider that phase two. If all of you are standing by when the original two spells are cast, you can spill blood on the position of your deaths. It would act as an amplifier for the spell. To add fuel to the fire, so to speak."

"Okay," Caroline said. "But we can't all get to where we died without…you know. Dying again."

"Yes dear, but you don't actually have to be the one to spill the blood. We can get people to do that for you. Those of you that cannot enter town can just provide a vessel filled with your blood and direct us where to take it."

Johnna nodded firmly. "Yes, having so many areas of blood magic awakening should certainly shatter the Traveler spell."

"So…you're saying we can actually fix Mystic Falls?" Elena asked incredulously, her voice cracking. "We can go home?"

Johnna smiled. "Once we get your Bonnie back to help us with the magic, I don't see why not."

"Oh good!" Caroline said happily. "Does that mean you'll help us with that too?"

"Well," Johnna said, a little more hesitantly. "I don't see why not, as long as you don't require anything too taxing."

Caroline shook her head. "When Bonnie told us to ask you for help, she said she'd be doing the heavy lifting."

"Wonderful. Just contact Liv and Luke when you need them and they'll be happy to help! Isn't that right, dears?" Johnna finished, smiling brightly at them.

Liv rolled her eyes. "Yeah sure, nothing bad ever happens when we agree to help this lot."


	11. Chapter 11

"Stefan?" Damon asked again, mind blank. He shook his head quickly a few times, trying to think. "What are you – _how_ are you…?" Taking a closer look at his brother, Damon tensed. The defensive set of his shoulders, crossed arms and suspicious expression? This wasn't Stefan. At least not the one Damon would have given pretty much anything to see.

Damon's mind raced. What the hell was he supposed to do now? His brother was looking him up and down cautiously. The look of disgust prominent in his eyes made it pretty clear that whatever conversation they were about to have wouldn't be a pleasant one.

Crap – _Bonnie_! Damon cursed inwardly. The thought of how disastrous it would be if Stefan set eyes on her had him about ready to explode. Almost reflexively, Damon reached for his phone to warn her to stay at Sheila's before remembering that 1983 was a little out of Verizon's network range.

His thoughts were interrupted by his brother. "Not happy to see me, Damon?" Stefan asked sarcastically. "And here I thought we'd have a nice little family reunion."

Damon cleared his throat. "What are you doing here, brother?" God, how was he going to play this? 1983 Stefan all but hated his guts. Ah well, when in doubt? Be a sarcastic asshole. Words to live by.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Oh! So…you're admitting that we're brothers now?" Snorting in derision, he continued, "I got a call from the family as soon as you showed up. What the hell are you doing here, Damon? You hate Mystic Falls!"

"What are you talking about?" Damon smirked. "Haven't you ever heard the expression 'home is where the heart is?'"

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "Seriously, Damon. What the hell are you up to? I thought you'd have left a trail of bodies lining the streets by now – but I haven't been able to find so much as a missing person. So why did you come back here? There must be a reason."

Damon rolled his eyes. Stefan determined to puzzle out his motives for being in town. Déjà vu much?

"If that's your ass backwards way of asking me to go hunting with you Stefan, then you don't need to be so shy. I'd be _happy_ to help you round up some dinner."

"From what I hear, you brought your dinner with you," Stefan said suspiciously. "They told me you brought someone along. A girl?" He pointed toward the cot. "Is that where she's sleeping? I'm surprised you need it. Since when did you stop playing with your food?"

Damon scowled. So he knew about Bonnie. That was all they needed – him trying to track her down so that he could compel on her merry way to 'safety.' God, this was a disaster.

"What can I say, brother?" Damon said with a dramatic shrug. "All your mopey, judgmental ways have finally rubbed off on me. I'm a changed man!"

Stefan growled under his breath. "I came here to make sure you don't do anything to attract notice from the wrong people. I'm not leaving until you tell me what the hell you're up to."

As he opened his mouth to reply, Damon heard the familiar sound of his car heading up the driveway. His eyes darted frantically around the room as he tried to decide how the hell to get out of this. There was absolutely no way he could let Stefan see Bonnie.

"Well, Stefan," Damon said brightly as he clapped his hands together. "As fun as this little bonding session has been, I'm afraid having the morality police as a babysitter would be a little inconvenient for me at the moment. So…" he trailed off with a shrug before hurtling over and snapping Stefan's neck.

He took off down the stairs and out to catch Bonnie before she came inside. Throwing himself into the passenger seat, he barely glanced at her before snapping, "Get us out of here. _Right now_."

Whatever Bonnie saw in his expression must have been pretty alarming, because she didn't even yell at him for being an asshole before flooring it back down the driveway.

Once they were a few blocks away, she pulled onto the side of the road. "What the hell is going on, Damon?" she asked shakily. "The look on your face…" she shook her head. "What happened?"

"Yeah, we have a problem," Damon started grimly. "A big one." He turned to face her before continuing, finally meeting her eyes. "Stefan's here."

For a brief moment, delight flashed through Bonnie's eyes before she connected the dots and her jaw dropped. "You don't mean…you're saying…" she gulped in air, trying to get a grip. "You're actually telling me that this time's version of Stefan is _here_?"

"Full of questions about why I'm in Mystic Falls and why I brought my own personal human blood bag to town with me," Damon said with a nod.

"Crap! He knows about me?" Bonnie cried. She gripped the steering wheel and chanted "This isn't good, this isn't good, this isn't good," over and over.

"No kidding!" Damon winced. "You know him, Bonnie," he rolled his eyes, "well – you technically don't, but I assure you, 1983 Stefan is just as self-righteous as the post-Y2K version. He's convinced that I'm here to cause trouble, and he won't be satisfied until he's sniffed out what we're up to."

"So what do we do?" Bonnie said worriedly. "I mean, we can't let him get suspicious that you're…different from past you. That could mess up your futures!"

"Yeah, and if he pokes his nose in too deep, you and I won't get to have a future!" Damon snapped.

"We have to get out of here!" Bonnie declared urgently. "We have to figure all this out and disappear before he has a chance to mess it all up."

"Then let's get to it," Damon said firmly. "To grandmother's house we freaking go."

* * *

After hearing Damon's idea about using doppelganger blood to strengthen the spell, Sheila shrugged. "If I understand everything you've told me about doppelgangers correctly…I don't think that's the reason you should use their blood."

Surprised, Bonnie looked up from the grimoire she'd been combing through. "But you _do_ think we need their blood?"

Sheila nodded. "To use as touchstones."

"Meaning?" Damon asked.

Bonnie was already nodding. "She's saying that their blood will give us a tie to our time – something to draw us back."

"Right," Sheila agreed. "It'll act as an anchor."

Seeing the face Bonnie made, Damon raised an eyebrow at Sheila. "Cool it on the "a" word, will you? Trigger word and all."

Sheila rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored him. Turning to Bonnie, she continued, "You'll have the power of your ancestors connecting you to the house, no matter what the year. If you're really insisting on taking this vampire back with you-"

Damon interrupted, "We are – we're insisting!"

"…I think he needs a physical connection as well."

"A physical connection? You mean my brother," Damon said in understanding.

"Correct."

"Okay…but you said 'their' blood. Why do we need Elena's?"

"Emotional touchstones are powerful in their own right. Especially since you both seem to love this Elena. It will give you yet another connection to your time – as well as giving you a tie to each other. Less chance one of you will veer off course."

"That could actually happen?" Damon said in a strangled voice.

"I have no idea," Sheila said with a shrug. "Time travel spells aren't exactly my area of expertise. Either way, it's better safe than sorry."

"I'll say!" Damon muttered nervously. It'd be just his luck to end up stuck in some alternate universe alone.

"This is progress," Sheila spoke confidently, "If a witch from your time casts an opening spell using Elena's blood, she could then use Stefan to start a reverse-location spell. He could stand within the opening spell circle and act as a beacon." Sheila rolled her shoulders. "Once we figure out how to get you two in a position to leave this time, you can use Damon's blood to draw yourselves to that beacon."

"That makes sense," Bonnie said, "But 'getting in a position to leave this time' is kinda the sticking point. I think we need to focus on figuring out what the witches meant by saying that we couldn't get _directly_ back to our time."

"Yeah…about that," Damon started. "I was thinking on that before being rudely interrupted by my least favorite brother. Remember what you said about Katherine being sucked away somewhere? You had no control over it, but she just disappeared. Kinda like everyone started disappearing during the collapse…"

"You're wondering where they went," Bonnie said.

"Yeah," Damon said. "I mean…let's not get all spiritual here, but do you think they went to some kind of hell-like place?"

"So what if they did?" Bonnie smiled sweetly at him. "Want me to send you there?"

"What I want," Damon said sardonically, "is to know how many dimensions like that there are. If it's some kind of…I don't know, void?"

"Why does it matter? We don't want to go there!" Bonnie said impatiently. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"Prepare to have your mind blown by my brilliance, oh doubting one," Damon started grandly. "Because if there is a realm like that? I'm guessing time probably isn't too big of a factor there. Like – maybe doesn't exist at all."

"So what are you saying? You think we should just go dimension hopping until we land in the right one?" Bonnie asked. "Brilliant isn't the word I'd use."

Sheila had been studying Damon intently ever since he'd used the word 'void,' and she finally spoke up. "Actually child, I think your vampire might be on to something."

"Really?" Bonnie and Damon asked simultaneously in astonishment.

"Well," Sheila said, "I've never really delved into the kind of magic we're talking about here, but I think you should pay another visit to your witch spirits. I know some of our ancestors have banned evil beings from our world in the past – and something about the word 'void,'" she shook her head slowly. "I think I've seen that written somewhere before."

"So you both think we should try to find a realm where time doesn't exist and use it as a way station between here and home?" Bonnie asked. "That sounds crazy!"

Damon threw up his hands. "We accidentally traveled back in time, Bonnie! We're being stalked by a past version of my brother! Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it. At least we're working off an actual theory now."

Bonnie sighed. "I'll go back to the house first thing in the morning. What am I supposed to ask? 'Hey, do you think you could banish us to a realm where time doesn't exist?'"

"Why not?" Damon shrugged. "I'm sure Emily would be thrilled to hear you use the words 'banish' and 'Damon' in the same sentence."

"Good point."

"Great, you do that – and I'll distract my brother. I'll lead him on a merry chase around the other side of town so he doesn't get wind of anything you're doing. I'll poke around the tomb or the Lockwood cellar or something to make him think I'm doing something shady."

"Yeah, I can't even deal with any of that," Bonnie said. "Seeing him when it's not really _him_? No thank you." She snorted. "Plus I'd probably be sucked into a wormhole or something for ruining the future."

"Boy, that would be terrible," Damon said with a smirk.

He definitely understood her point, though. He'd almost forgotten what it had been like between he and Stefan before they'd both made a home for themselves in present-day Mystic Falls. Seeing how much this version of Stefan hated him? He'd never missed his brother more.

"Yes, you definitely need to stay as far away from him as possible, Bonnie," Sheila warned. "The repercussions of him recognizing you-"

"Believe me, I get it." Bonnie said firmly. "I'll start staying here with you, and Damon will make sure he isn't being tailed before he gets anywhere near this house. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, because nothing ever goes wrong when someone says _that_," Damon warned.


	12. Chapter 12

Sitting out on the balcony of her apartment, Elena stared out into the sunset. Taking occasional sips from the bottle of bourbon in her lap, she tried to empty her mind.

Hearing the door slide open, she glanced over to see Stefan coming out to join her. As he settled into the chair next to hers, she reached out and offered him the bottle wordlessly.

He nodded and took it. "Thanks," he said before taking a generous swallow. "So you're a bourbon drinker now, huh?"

Elena shrugged. "Hey, I live with Alaric. He and bourbon are pretty much a package deal."

"Mmmm," Stefan replied noncommittally, thinking her new routine probably had more to do with his brother.

"Speaking of _Damon_," he started drolly, "I feel like I should apologize to you."

"Why?" Elena was surprised.

"I know I haven't talked to you much since that night," Stefan's tone was apologetic. "I've actually been avoiding you. I just keep thinking that if I'd stayed over there – if I'd just been there, I could have done something-"

"Come on, Stefan," Elena interjected. "You know that's not how it works. The spell ended when the spell ended – you couldn't have changed that. You'd have just been stuck over there with them." She shrugged. "That wouldn't have fixed anything."

"I just hate feeling like I left him behind. After all he went through to save me. I haven't done a very good job of dealing with any of this. Leaving – not talking to you. Any of you."

Elena snorted. "I'm not exactly the poster child for emotional stability either. None of us have handled it very well."

"Elena, you kept your humanity. Hell, you go to work at that clinic almost every day and spend your time helping people. So you aren't letting yourself feel the full range of human emotions – so what? We're vampires, ups and downs are part of the deal."

Elena raised her eyebrows. "So you aren't on Team Caroline – convinced I need an intervention?"

"You know I'm not," Stefan shook his head. "I've been so focused on guilt that I've let a lot of things slip through the cracks myself. Besides, you and Caroline are still so new to all this. You don't know what it can be like. I've had a century and a half to get used to the idea that sometimes it's better not to deal with everything all the time. Damon's a lot better at it than I am, but blocking certain things? Sometimes that really is the best thing you can do to stay sane."

"Isn't that the way vampires justify killing people?"

"Not necessarily. Like I said – you're not doing so badly. You're blocking pain – hurt. Putting up a wall to keep yourself distanced from that is probably what's keeping you from snapping and doing things you might regret." Stefan shrugged. "We do what we have to in order to survive."

Taking another swig from the bottle, Elena just nodded in reply.

Sitting in silence, they both watched the final rays of light disappear from the horizon. As the darkness took over and the everyday sounds of people getting ready to turn in for the night started to decrease, Stefan smiled to himself.

Catching the gesture out of the corner of her eye, Elena rolled her head to look at him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked curiously.

"I was actually thinking back to my human days – or ours, I should say." Stefan smiled a little, fondly. "I know I never did, but did Damon ever tell you much about our lives from back then?"

Elena shook her head. "Not really – a little bit about being in the army. Not much more than that."

Stefan nodded. "It's hard to think back that far, to realize how different things could have been. For both of us."

"If Katherine hadn't happened, you mean."

"Well, we would never have gotten here if she hadn't, so it's not so much that I regret her..."

"You regret how it went down between the two of you." Elena nodded. "Damon does too, you know."

"Did you know he's the one that taught me how to read?"

"Seriously?" Elena was surprised.

Stefan's smile was melancholy. "Even before our mother died, she was often sick. And our father – well, him you know a little about."

"Yeah, he was an ass," Elena said firmly.

Stefan snorted. "Anyway," he continued, "that left Damon to take care of me a lot of the time. After a century and a half, I forget sometimes that he's so much older. But back then? He took being my big brother seriously." Stefan sighed and grabbed the bottle from Elena's hands. "He was my best friend," he finished quietly before taking a long gulp.

"I know it doesn't seem like it," he continued, "but ever since we came back here? It's been like this slow process of getting some of that back. I watched him fall in love with you, and piece by piece I got parts of him back that I had thought died with him in 1864."

"Why do think that would surprise me?" Elena asked curiously. "I saw it happen too. Saw him start trusting you. Even in the beginning," she frowned a little as she thought back to those early days, "when he was so determined not to, he was always there when you – when _we_ – really needed him to be."

Stefan smiled again. "I forget how well you understand him. Most of the others don't."

"Us youngsters," Elena said a little ironically. "It took me a long time to understand him – accept the parts of him that are hard to navigate. All they see is the result of his temper – which is usually a body count." She rubbed the back of her neck. "And not that any of that is okay with me, because it's not. I just understand that it's more complicated than that. That he's more complicated than that."

Stefan nodded and squeezed her arm briefly. "You see that he's worth saving – worth loving," he said simply.

"Yes." Elena clenched her fists for a minute, trying to hold back the aching loneliness that was always just below the surface.

Deciding they'd traveled far enough down that road for one evening, Stefan decided to lighten the mood a little. He didn't want to push Elena too far toward emotions she wasn't ready for yet. "Of course, 'worth saving' was a poor choice of words, considering that we're pretty much letting him and Bonnie save themselves."

Elena was grateful for the reprieve. "Saving us is what both of them do best. Might as well let them have at it. At least we haven't been worthless here. Hopefully Johnna's big plan will really help us take back Mystic Falls once they get back."

Stefan nodded, staring out into the night sky. "They're probably out there strategizing as we speak." _Unless I'm there screwing everything up for them_, he added to himself in silent worry.

* * *

The next day, Elena yawned as she changed out of her scrubs in the intern's locker room. She fantasized momentarily about taking a nap, but she knew it was useless to even try. She didn't sleep much these days. Maybe it was time for another feeding trip. If she could just make it through the rest of the day, she'd find an old back road to haunt tonight.

Lost in thought, she was completely taken off guard when she rounded the corner and saw Jeremy and Alaric in the waiting room. "Hey guys," she said cautiously. "Everything okay?"

"What, we can't stop by to take you to lunch without you worrying that something is wrong?" Alaric asked jokingly.

"Yeah, come on Elena. You're the one always saying we need more family time!" Jeremy tried to sound enthusiastic.

She snorted. "That was pathetic, Jer. Even for you! You are both completely transparent." She shrugged and succeeded in summoning a smile. "Luckily for you, I'm hungry and not above accepting your blatantly obvious distraction techniques."

Both guys laughed in reply and held out their arms for her to take. Smiling more easily now, she hooked her hands around both of them and they started toward the parking lot.

Right before they got to the door, Alaric nodded back toward the waiting area. "Elena, what's with that guy?"

"Yeah, he's been standing there glaring at us ever since you came out here," Jeremy added with a frown.

Elena looked back in confusion and saw Kade quickly turning away. "I'm not sure what his deal is –Tyler thinks he has a thing for me." She shrugged it off.

"Seriously?" Jeremy started looking a little worried. "Has he bothered you? Do you want us to-?"

Elena cut him off. "Seriously, I hardly ever talk to the guy! If he starts messing with me, I can take care of it myself."

Alaric and Jeremy shared a concerned look before allowing her to change the subject. That had not been a run-of-the-mill expression on his face; the guy seemed unstable. Maybe they should have a talk with Tyler about what he'd noticed. Elena wasn't exactly in the best place to judge anyone else's emotions at the moment.

* * *

The next morning, Damon woke up to an eerie silence. It was the first time he'd been alone since they'd gotten stuck here – he'd actually gotten used to having the little witch around. Shrugging off the odd solitude, he headed straight for the whiskey. Pouring a generous portion, he swirled it around in the glass for a minute before taking a swallow.

"What the-!" he coughed out before choking in earnest. Grabbing his throat, he doubled over and began gagging. Having expected the usual bite of the vervain he'd added in didn't prepare him for the burning he was experiencing now. As he collapsed onto the floor, he dimly realized what must have happened.

_Stupid_, he thought to himself angrily. He'd never have fallen for it if there hadn't already been vervain mixed into the bottle. Stefan had probably added enough to bring down an elephant. Before blacking out, he briefly saw Stefan's face appear over him.

"It didn't have to come to this. You should have just talked to me, brother," was all he heard before darkness washed over him.


	13. Chapter 13

Damon groaned awake as he heard the sound of the lock on the cellar door being slid open. "Time for another round already?" he managed to get out. He might not be quite as incapacitated as Stefan was hoping, but his efforts to build up a tolerance for vervain only went so far. He was definitely pretty screwed at the moment.

When it was Bonnie's face that swam into view as she stood over his prone form, he coughed in shock. "What the hell are you doing here? Is Stefan-?"

Bonnie shook her head quickly. "Not here – I don't know where everyone else is. We need to get you out of here before someone comes back!"

"No kidding," Damon bit out. "Do you happen to have a fresh blood source I can tap? You know, to help with the whole being able to stand thing!"

Bonnie growled under her breath in frustration. "You still have blood bags in your room, right? I'll go grab them. Not like you can keep staying here anyway."

Damon nodded faintly. "Don't you worry, witchy. I'll be right here when you get back."

As he let his head collapse back onto the ground, he could practically feel his mind starting to drift away. Testing his mobility by trying to lift his arms, he rolled his eyes. So much for being the bad brother – letting Stefan get the drop on him with vervain in the whiskey bottle? Pathetic.

His mind snapped back into sharp focus when he heard the front door creak open. Stretching his senses out to listen, he gritted his teeth. Stefan was home.

He forced his mind away from the pain and got up as quickly as he could. As he left the cellar, he heard Stefan heading upstairs instead of back toward him. _Damn it_! Damon thought. He must be able to hear Bonnie.

Clenching his fists, he rallied what energy he had left and took off after him. He'd have time to collapse in total exhaustion after he saved Bonnie. Hopefully.

He came to a stop in the doorway just in time to see Stefan crumple to the ground in pain. He grinned at Bonnie, who'd had the foresight to turn her back so that Stefan wouldn't see her face before commencing with the whole brain-on-fire thing. He shook his head at his brother. "You're out of your league this time." He wondered absently how many times he'd snapped his brother's neck as he added another tally to the count. When Bonnie turned around, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Guess we overstayed our welcome."

She rolled her eyes and tossed him a blood bag. "Eat up, smartass. Then I'll tell you about how I came up with a plan to get us the hell out of here while you've been napping in the basement."

"Seriously? You figured out how to abracadabra us back home?" Damon asked excitedly as he sucked down the blood bag.

"Well…" Bonnie said. "It's a little crazy. But, you know." she shrugged at him.

He nodded in understanding. "What have we ever done that isn't?"

When they got to the witch house, Damon hesitated on the porch. "You sure I'll be welcome in there?"

Bonnie grinned at him. "It's pretty much like you said – they perked right up as soon as I mentioned your name and banishing in the same sentence."

"So," Damon continued as they headed downstairs, "Banish is still the word we're using? Doesn't sound too promising."

"Yeah," Bonnie winced. "That's kinda where the whole crazy part comes in."

"Let's hear it."

"Well, turns out that you were right – we do need another dimension to more or less act as a bridge between here and the present. And you and Grams were both right – it is a void."

"But you're saying you can get us there? And then get us out?"

"Maybe?"

Damon's eyes widened. "_Maybe_?"

"Give me a break! You think people try to pull off stuff like this every day?"

"Not unless they're us," Damon fired back.

"Damon, we don't really have a lot of options here," Bonnie's voice started sounding tired. "Do you want to hear the idea or not?"

Damon nodded as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Okay," Bonnie started. "Remember when Grams told us that my ancestors have banished people from this realm before? Well, you really did hit the nail on the head with your idea of a timeless dimension. That's where they go."

"Right, a timeless void full of evil monsters. What are we waiting for? Let me grab my picnic basket."

Glaring, Bonnie tried to keep a lid on her patience as she continued. "Anyway, the good news? Getting there won't be a problem. That part isn't on us."

"You're telling me that an old house full of your witchy ancestors – all of whom hate me – are going to banish us from this world?" Damon asked incredulously. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Bonnie said pleasantly. "You have a better idea?"

Damon massaged his forehead. "Fine. Continue."

"Next is where – hopefully – Liv and Luke will come in. Like Grams said – they need to cast an opening spell. It sends out waves of magical energy that should weaken the boundary between realms so that I can find a foothold."

"And they'll be able to do it?" Damon sounded unconvinced.

"With no problem," Bonnie said confidently. "The spell itself is fairly basic."

"We're going to be able to bus ourselves around different dimensions using basic spells?" Damon's tone was doubtful. "If it's so easy, why hasn't it ever come up before?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "_Easy_? Please! For one thing, I have no real idea whether or not _any_ of this is going to work. Plus – just because their part is fairly simple doesn't mean mine will be." She scowled at him. "Can I continue?"

He waved a hand in invitation.

"So, the spell might be easy enough, but the actual important part is that they draw the power to start the spell by using blood from Elena and Caroline."

"Caroline?" Damon asked in surprise. "I know your Grams talked about Elena and how we can use our connection to her, but why Blondie?"

"Just another power boost," Bonnie explained. "Elena is an emotional touchstone – but you're also her sire. And Caroline's. The more connections we can draw from, the better."

"So why not use blood from everyone?" Damon asked. "Couldn't they all be emotional touchstones for you? Little Gilbert, Matt…" he trailed off.

Bonnie shook her head. "Vampire blood is already inherently magical. We wouldn't be able to draw as much power from anyone else."

"And Stefan? Surely he plays a role in all this somewhere?"

Bonnie nodded. "He needs to be in the present-day witch house, inside the opening spell when we try to get back. All the twins need to do is cast a locator spell meant to find you. Stefan will need to keep his blood flowing to keep it going until – hopefully – we end up there. Once the locator spell is active, I'll try to harness it from our end. With any luck the combined links from all the different blood pulls will be enough to get us to the right place."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing all this from smack dab in the middle of literal nowhere?"

Bonnie smirked at him. "I thought you'd never ask. You're going to love this – the witches said they'll give me a crystal."

"A crystal," Damon said flatly. "You mean like the one Emily…" he shook his head. "Talk about the past repeating itself. So you're telling me that you'll have a power-infused crystal to help you harness the power we'll need?" He grinned at her and shook his head. "You know – it never gets old having a Bennett witch around."

"Tell me about it," Bonnie said. "So, that's pretty much the plan. Now all you have to do is get us into the boarding house unseen so that we can get word to everybody. Plus, we need to make sure we can synchronize ourselves with them time-wise. Once they get the letter, they can hang a clock and a calendar along with confirmation that they can handle their part of the plan. Then? We're good to go."

Damon nodded. "What are we waiting for? I perfected the art of repeatedly killing my brother decades ago! Let's do this."

* * *

When Jeremy summoned everyone with the news of another letter, they were all tentatively hopeful as they gathered. Bonnie and Damon wouldn't have contacted them again unless they'd figured out how to come home.

Closest to the door when Jeremy walked in, Caroline snatched the pages and began to read them aloud to everyone.

_Guess what? Your favorite resident witch and I have actually come up with a plan. More or less. We'll either get back home or sucked into eternal oblivion. Just another day in paradise._

_So, hopefully you guys have talked to Crazylocks and her waste of space of a brother. We'd appreciate it if they could actually come through for once. I'll let Bonnie explain what we need them to do…_

After Caroline read Bonnie's instructions for the witches, she sighed when the handwriting switched back to Damon's.

_So there you have it. Bonnie will check in as soon as she can to make sure things are a go – make sure you remember the calendar, Jer. Once we know your end is covered, we'll send you one last message with the time. Stefan has to be at the witch house, obviously, but the rest of you need to wait out in the clearing. Bonnie says the place we're coming from might have a strong pull and hey, better safe than sorry. Apologies in advance, brother, if you accidentally get sucked into oblivion with us. Just another perk of being related to me._

_It's definitely time to put this whole thing behind us. 1983 was bad enough the first time I experienced it. We'll be home soon, Elena (and the rest of you idiots)._

* * *

Three days later, Damon waited at the witch house. Bonnie had gone to say her final goodbyes to her Grams. When she got back, he looked her over. "You okay? That had to be…weird."

Bonnie nodded. "She didn't actually say anything, but I think she might be intending to do some kind of memory modifying spell."

"Makes sense – if we're supposed to believe that this all already happened by the time we meet up in the present? Your Grams had either done something to her memory or taken acting classes, because I would swear that she had no recollection of actually meeting me before."

Bonnie shrugged that line of thought away. "You ready to do this? We have about two hours before they're supposed to start things up on their side."

Damon nodded. "Tell me what I need to know to get this done."

"Okay, so we're letting them banish us to…" she paused before just waving her hands vaguely, "wherever it is they banish people to. But I don't really feel like getting sucked into some void without taking precautions, so I'm going to cast a protection spell first."

Damon nodded. "Precautions sound good. I like precautions. So what will your spell do?"

"I'm going to more-or-less erect a screen up around us so that we'll have a barrier between us and wherever we end up."

"Smart," Damon said approvingly.

"You'll need to drink some of my blood so that I can include you in the spell," Bonnie said as she dug into the bag she was holding.

"Oooo," Damon said with a smirk. "Dinner time. Would you prefer the wrist or neck?"

"In your dreams, perv," Bonnie scoffed as she tossed an already-filled vial at him.

He shrugged. "Bottoms up!"

"The only other thing you don't already know is this," Bonnie said as she held up a bag cinched close with a drawstring. "Hopefully we'll still be inside the protection spell when we get home, but I can't close all the magic myself since Liv and Luke will be casting some of it. Grams helped me mix some herbs together that should take care of that. I don't think we'll be safe from being sucked back to where we came from until their opening spell is closed."

He took the bag from her and pocketed it. "Don't lose the mystical maryjane. Check."

"Okay then," Bonnie said with a nervous smile. "We're going home!"

"From your mouth to oblivion's ear, Broom-Hilda."

* * *

It was all a blur.

Later, Damon swore to everyone that he remembered next to nothing about the entire experience of being banished into near-oblivion. He could pull together bits and pieces – Bonnie gripping his hand as the wind became so loud it was like white noise. The howling of the storm raging just beyond their protective shield. The crashing thunder that only increased as Bonnie's booming chants echoed around them. The bite of the knife as Bonnie stained the crystal with his blood. The spark of light as it finally activated. The disconcerting sensation of being jerked around before finally tumbling back into stillness.

The sudden quiet brought Damon back to himself. Had they made it? He cautiously opened his eyes.


	14. The Reunion

"Okay, _Voldemort_," Damon said, looking around warily. "This has got to top the already impressive list of creepiest things you've ever done."

Glancing back at Bonnie, he noticed she was still all witched out. "Snap out of it, crazy eyes!" he demanded. "Come on, Bonnie!" He cautiously slapped her cheek a few times. Finally, she blinked and her eyes went back to normal.

"Seriously, don't scare me like that!" Damon said. "How pissed would they all be if I got back without you?"

"Touching," Bonnie said dryly, looking around. "Think it's safe to close the spell?"

"I think I will literally go insane if we have to spend one more second inside this thing," Damon replied, peering suspiciously at the blurry blackness around them.

"Okay, give me the-" Damon handed her the pouch before she finished speaking. Shaking the mixture onto the ground, Bonnie chanted a few words and they watched as the weird bubble they were in faded and the familiar surroundings of the old witch house came into focus.

"Holy crap, it actually _worked_!" Damon looked around in awe.

"Maybe…" Bonnie said, eyes narrowed. "Unless it turns out to be 1765 or 2045 or God knows when…"

"No time like the present to find out!" Damon said teasingly.

"_No time like the present_? Did you really just say that?" Bonnie couldn't help but laugh. "God, it'll be nice to get away from you."

"Pfff," Damon said. "You know I've totally won you over, Bon Bon." He started to wink at her before suddenly freezing in place.

As Bonnie watched a strange expression creep over his face, she frowned. "Damon? Is everything…"

Damon's voice was faint as he replied, "I think I hear…is that…" he turned around quickly and headed for the doorway. As footsteps descended down the stairs, Damon dashed around the corner. "Stefan!" he croaked.

As their gazes connected, both of them froze as they looked each other over urgently. Bonnie hung back, smiling, letting them have their moment.

Parts of Damon he barely even knew existed warmed at the sight of his brother. Instead of the wariness and disgust he'd seen just days ago, Stefan's eyes were swimming with relief, warmth and joy. Things Damon would never be taking for granted again.

Damon finally closed the remaining distance and pulled Stefan into a hard hug. "Missed you, brother," he said roughly before pulling away. "_Really_ damn good to see you," he couldn't help but add as he gripped Stefan's shoulders, not quite able to let go just yet.

"Never again," Stefan said intensely, trying to convey everything he was feeling into those words.

Damon nodded in reply. They'd never been too great at the whole emotional display thing, but they both knew how it was, even if they couldn't say it.

Stefan turned to Bonnie, still smiling. "It's good to see you too." As she rushed into his arms, he continued, "Welcome home!"

"I have _never_ been so happy to hear those words in my life," Bonnie said, smiling into Stefan's shoulder. Pulling away, she swallowed. "Are the others…?"

Stefan nodded. "Waiting out in the clearing like we planned. You both ready?" He glanced between them with an eyebrow cocked.

"Hell yes!" Damon exclaimed. "You know this house freaking hates me. Let's get the hell out of here before Emily shoots out of the ceiling and lights my ass on fire."

As Bonnie rolled her eyes and stomped up the stairs, Stefan let out a short laugh and gripped Damon's shoulder again. "Definitely good to have you back, brother."

Once they were outside, Stefan held a hand out to Bonnie questioningly. "Care to hitch a ride?" he asked. As soon as she grabbed him, the three of them whisked off to find the others.

* * *

"Finally!" was the first thing they heard when they came to a stop.

Grinning, Damon looked at all the shocked faces. "Honey, we're ho-ooof!" He was silenced by Caroline throwing her arms around both he and Bonnie. "You're back you're back you're back!" she chanted as she hugged them.

"Okay, then," Damon said as he patted her back a couple of times before extricating himself and letting her turn all her attention on strangling Bonnie to death.

Seeing Jeremy step up to wait for Caroline to finish freaking out, Damon shrugged and headed over to him. "I'll probably regret this," he said as he grabbed the back of Jeremy's neck, "but what the hell?" he finished, pulling him into a hug. Feeling Jeremy pound him on the back in return, he smiled to himself. "I think I'm actually happy to see you, Gilbert. Either the world is ending or I finally lost my mind."

Jeremy smirked as he pulled back. "Missed you too, dick."

Damon snorted and shoved him away. Seeing Matt and Tyler, he just nodded at them. He was done with the bro hugs. Except for…"Ric!" Damon said, grinning. "How happy are you right now? Living without having me around must be the worst!"

Alaric chuckled as they hugged. "The grass is already greener, the sky bluer…"

Damon laughed. "Missed you too, buddy."

Looking him up and down, Alaric raised an eyebrow. "You done pretending like you give a damn about anyone else?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Damon shrugged. "She's with Bonnie," he said defensively.

"Stop being a wuss and get over there."

"You're an asshole," Damon muttered before turning toward Elena.

When she finally stepped back from hugging Bonnie, he stopped in front of her questioningly. "I pictured this going a little differently. You haven't just been waiting around for me to get back so you can dump my ass, have you? Because that is the exact opposite of the reunion," he paused to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively, "I've been imagining."

Dazed, Elena's mouth opened and closed. "I…you…" She reached a hand up to touch his cheek. "I almost can't believe you're real," she said slowly before raising an eyebrow right back at him. "Except for the fact that you're already being a jackass."

Damon managed a laugh. Although interesting, this definitely wasn't the running-into-his-arms-epic-music-in-the-background-kissing-the-life-out-of-eachother reunion he'd lain awake imagining every night – something about Elena was definitely off. She might not have flipped the humanity switch, but she definitely had a wall up.

"Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, stroking her cheek.

Elena shrugged a little helplessly. "Yes…no…I don't know?" she replied with a small smile.

Meeting her eyes, he examined her silently. "Will you walk with me?" he finally asked softly, gesturing away from the others.

Elena nodded.

* * *

Once they were far enough away that Caroline couldn't eavesdrop, Elena turned to face Damon and sighed. "I'm sorry! I know you must be disappointed that I'm being so weird. I'm just so-"

Damon interrupted. "Do you really think I could possibly be disappointed right now?" he asked incredulously. He cupped Elena's face in his hands and waited for her to meet his gaze. "Elena," he said gently, "You know that I understand this, what you're feeling."

"Or _not_ feeling?" Elena asked wryly.

He ran a hand down her cheek. "We've all been through so much – _you've_ been through so much. But we aren't on a schedule. I'm back now - we have all the time in the world! You don't have to let in anything until you're ready."

Elena jerked away, furious with herself. "You think I'm not ready? Of course I want to be happy! All I've thought about every single day since you left was seeing you again! I don't even understand myself right now! Why the hell I can't just relax and let go." She collapsed against a tree before continuing in a quieter tone. "We should be so happy right now, Damon. I feel like I'm ruining everything!"

Leaning against a tree opposite her, Damon regarded her silently for a few moments. "Well," he finally started, "you are somewhat notorious for being difficult about letting in your emotions once you've blocked them out."

Elena looked at him dubiously. "Not helping!"

Damon held up a hand. "I'm not done!" He said. "I was just thinking," he gestured back toward the others, "maybe I should go grab Donovan and snap his neck for you again. It'll get you all weepy…plus, trying to kill that guy always puts me in good mood." He grinned. "It'll be a win-win!"

Elena stared at him disbelievingly for a few long moments before erupting into laughter. Leaning over to brace herself against her knees, she kept going. "You are incredible, do you know that?" she gasped out. "Back barely an hour before you're chomping at the bit to kill my friends!"

She started wiping away the tears streaking down her face, totally unable to control her gasping laughter. Damon hesitated before observing her mood changing and immediately stood and closed the distance between them to take her into his arms. "Shhhh shhhh, it's okay," he whispered softly into her hair as her laughter turned into sobs.

"Oh God," she gasped, voice muffled against his chest, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I can't – it's all coming back."

"Nothing to be sorry for, it's just you and me here," Damon massaged her back soothingly as he continued to comfort her. "Just let it out, it's okay."

Eventually, Elena's crying turned to deep, choking breaths. Damon continued to hold her until she finally regained composure. She pulled away to meet his eyes. "Killing Matt, really? God, that was such a Damon thing to say," she said with a small smile as she reached to brush a piece of hair off his forehead. "I think that's what I've been waiting for."

"What?" Damon asked as he reached up to gently wipe her cheeks. "My irresistible – if not slightly macabre - sense of humor?"

"No," Elena said simply. "Just you, period."

Damon smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. "Now you sound like you. Welcome back."

"Welcome back?" Elena smiled as she ran her hands through his hair. "I think that's supposed to be my line."

"Well, either way. I told you - threatening the quarterback works like a charm."

"God," Elena burst out before throwing her arms around Damon's neck and squeezing. "We really are here – _you're_ really here. Thank God, Damon. I – I don't even know what to say."

He kissed the side of her face. "You don't have to say anything, Elena."

Elena sniffed before stepping back to look at Damon. "But there is _so much_ I want to say to you! So many things I thought about saying as soon as I saw you again." She shook her head. "When I became a vampire, I thought we'd all have all the time in the world, you know?" Her voice cracked as she continued, "That there would always be more time."

She took a deep breath and grabbed his hands. "I was looking at everything all wrong, Damon! Just because we live longer doesn't mean that it's ever okay to wait. To waste time."

She stopped when Damon freed a hand to wipe more tears from her cheeks. "Elena, we don't have to do this right now. You're still processing. Wait until after we've talked to the others and-"

"No!" Elena interrupted heatedly. "Right now! No more waiting. I need to tell you how stupid I was to ever think that we could walk away from this. How wrong it was that we thought for even a second that we're bad for each other."

She stopped to scrub at her face and tried to keep it together long enough to say what she needed to say. "I've always known who you are Damon – I knew what I was signing on for when I fell in love with you. And no matter what happens or how badly we manage to screw things up, it doesn't matter. Whatever happens next? Or in fifty years – or a thousand? The only thing that matters is that we're in it together. That I'll be the one to kick your ass when you do something stupid. That you'll be the one to snap me out of it when my emotions get all crazy." She shook her head. "_Life_ is what's hard, Damon, not you and me."

She paused and reached to grasp his face in her hands. "However long our life lasts? That only scratches the surface of how long I'm going to love you."

Momentarily unable to think, speak or breathe, Damon shook his head slowly. "God, Elena," he whispered, breathing her in. Trying to regain his composure, he smirked at her. "Did you practice saying all that?"

Elena smiled into his neck. "Every single day that you've been gone," she said quietly.

When he stood back to look at her, Elena smiled at the wonder shining from Damon's eyes. "I love you, Elena. So, so much," he said reverently before finally – _finally_ – leaning in to kiss her. Surrounded by everything they felt, everything they'd lost, fought for and found again.

* * *

When they emerged back into the clearing, Elena coughed a little at seeing everyone turning to stare at them.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked slowly as she looked Elena over.

Smiling, Elena glanced at Damon before turning back to her friends. "I laughed, I cried, I-"

"I kissed the sense back into her!" Damon interrupted, grinning at them all. "I've definitely still got it."

"Ugh, stop being an ass, Damon," Bonnie scolded as she walked over and grabbed Elena. "I want another turn with her!"

"Ooo, are you going to kiss her too?" Damon teased. "Because I am definitely down for watching _that_."

"You are gross!" Bonnie griped. "It might not be too late to send you back, you know. We'd finally be rid of you for good."

Damon just winked in reply. "Don't listen to her, she totally loves me now," he proclaimed to the others.

Realizing nobody was paying any attention to them, Bonnie and Damon both looked around in confusion. Everyone was staring at Elena, who'd begun laughing at their banter.

"There it is," Alaric said softly with no little satisfaction. "She really is back!"

"Yeah," Jeremy agreed in relief. "I'd almost forgotten what it looks like when she's really happy."

"Dude, Damon is totally the Elena whisperer," Tyler muttered incredulously.

Caroline rolled her eyes at the look Stefan was giving her. "Fine, fine," she muttered. "You were right."

As they all looked around at each other, Damon raised an eyebrow. "So, where to now?" he asked. "Seeing as how witchy and I are both homeless at the moment…" he trailed off.

Elena glanced at the sky and smiled. "I know exactly where we should go!" She looked at Caroline and jerked her head toward the still-dark sky. "Think we can make it in time?" she asked.

Caroline wrinkled her forehead in confusion for a moment before connecting the dots. Then, clapping her hands excitedly, she squealed. "Great idea, Elena! Girl time!" She grabbed Bonnie's arm and started skipping toward the area they'd left their cars.

"Uh…girl time?" Damon asked incredulously.

Elena smiled softly at him and grabbed his hand. "There's just something we need to do. Don't worry, the rest of you can come too."

* * *

When they got to the park and everyone had piled out of the cars, Caroline eyed the guys. "All of you," she started, pointing at them, "have to wait here. We'll be back after the sun rises."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "What the hell, Caroline?" But she was already dragging Bonnie off as Elena followed, laughing.

"Just wait!" Caroline called back. When she'd brought Elena here barely a week ago to watch the sunrise, they'd promised each other that they'd come back when all three of them could see it together. It was the perfect time for them to celebrate something that none of them would ever take for granted again.

* * *

Watching them go, Jeremy shrugged and plopped down onto the ground. "So what are we supposed to do?" he asked.

Ric pulled a bottle of bourbon out of his bag in reply.

Matt shook his head. "Seriously, you brought booze?"

Ric grinned. "You think I'd come to welcome my best friend home _without_ bringing alcohol? Come on!" As he snorted, he pulled out a sleeve of plastic cups. "You should all be thanking me for being prepared!" He winced, "And for being so willing to corrupt a bunch of minors."

Damon grinned and sank onto the ground next to Jeremy. "Sounds like a plan to me!" He shook his head a little. "I'm actually a little relieved – I had bets on Blondie throwing one of her parties to welcome Bonnie back."

At that, Stefan laughed. "She wanted to – but we wouldn't let her!"

Tyler nodded. "Bad mojo, dude. Planning a rager before we even knew whether your plan would actually work."

"Yeah, speaking of your plan," Jeremy interrupted. "You ready to spill the details yet?"

Damon cringed as he filled his cup. "About that…it might be best to let what happened in 1983 _stay_ in 1983."

"What's the big deal, Damon? You guys made it back, so obviously whatever you did worked." Alaric shrugged. "Why not spill the beans?"

"You know how everyone is always coming down on me for my crazy kamikaze ideas?" Damon took a long slug from his cup. "What we did to get back here? It was…well," he shook his head, trying to find the right words. "We were desperate, willing to try anything, you know? Let's just table that conversation for now." Seeing the arguments already forming on the guys' faces, he continued, "At least until we're all together, okay? If we're going to talk about it, I don't want to have the conversation more than once."

Accepting that, the guys all stayed sitting, passing the bottle back and forth in silent comradery. After a few minutes, the wind carried the sound of all three girls laughing.

Ric smiled a little. "There's something worth drinking to," he said quietly. The guys all toasted their cups in the air in response.

They had a lot to talk about – and plenty of problems still ahead of them. But for now, watching the sun rise, they were all content to enjoy the moment. Their problems could wait a few more hours.


End file.
